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For 1-3 Clemson, Carolina is the perfect next opponent.
Let’s imagine what is going on in the football programs of the teams that will meet in Chapel Hill on October 4.
The Tar Heels are trying earnestly to improve from their unimpressive 2-2 start to the season. Clemson has lost twice on the last possession of each game and then was thoroughly outplayed at home by surprising Syracuse.
Even though their legacies are far apart in football, their brands are two of the biggest in the ACC. Clemson’s goal is to turn its season around at the expense of the host team.
Dabo Swinney has taken the lead for career victories at his school and in the ACC. But his fan base has been split over how the head coach approached the transfer portal and NIL the last few years.
He had built his program on developing some of the best recruiting classes in the country with the culture of winning with those players and not jumping to fill holes in his roster through the portal. Swinney also was late in getting started with NIL, which Carolina was as well.
So what has happened at Clemson after reaching the College Football Playoff five times and winning two national championships, along with 7 ACC titles in 9 years and regular 10-win seasons?
It is not noticeable to the casual college football fan, since Clemson won another ACC crown in 2024, but the natives are restless in Death Valley with wild speculation about who might replace Dabo if he were to leave.
“We’re not going to win the national championship,” Swinney allowed, “but we can still have a great season and enjoy the journey.”
And the Tigers are practicing hard and tinkering with a lineup that doesn’t have the same star quality at wide receiver and running back, but it wouldn’t be surprising if their game plan was to turn Carolina blue into red meat.
While Clemson will be a solid favorite to win the noon kickoff in Kenan Stadium, just winning won’t be enough to jumpstart the rest of its season. Swinney is bullish in defense of Cade Klubnik, the best quarterback he has had since Trevor Lawrence, who got his career started in the 2022 ACC championship win over UNC in Charlotte.
Whatever level of talent the Tigers have, it is far better than what Bill Belichick can put on the field in his first year coaching at Carolina. And they don’t just know they are better; they want to make a statement like TCU and UCF did in two blowouts of the Tar Heels.
Swinney thinks their alumni and fans do not have as much appreciation to match their expectations, and there is no better way to even that equation than by getting ready to play and plan to crush an inferior opponent that has a big brand and sure-fire Hall of Fame coach.
Unfortunately, the timing is perfect.
Featured image via Associated Press/Jacob Kupferman
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
