Week six of the college football season didn’t bring a whole lot of excitement. Two of the nations top five teams were on bye weeks, while the other three basically played what turned out to be snoozefests. We did get one top ten matchup featuring two unbeaten SEC teams, but it gave us more sloppiness than excitement. It’s like they are always telling us though, it just means more. For Clemson fans, it was a weekend to sit back, relax, and watch the action, minus the anxiety.
Much has been made of the Clemson offense since its lackluster performance in Chapel Hill. There’s no disputing that the Tigers have not been as sharp or efficient on the offensive side as most expected. They haven’t been able to run the ball at times, have struggled to get the intermediate passing game going, and the play up front hasn’t been as consistent as it needs to be. Oddly enough, despite all that, this offense has still put up better numbers than any in the previous four seasons, two of which ended in national titles.
Some folks still don’t give this coaching staff the benefit of the doubt, despite the fact that they’ve earned it. It isn’t out of the ordinary for Clemson to be pushed by less talented teams during the seasons first few weeks. The 2016 team that won it all had three one possession games through its first five games, with one of those coming at home against Troy.
If there is one thing that has been consistent about this football program is the fact that they always get better as the season progresses. In a way, it’s as if this staff builds these teams up, a little at the time, week by week. By season’s end they always seem to be playing their best ball, never peaking to early. That alone should give the fan base confidence that this teams best football is ahead of it.
On the defensive side, we have seen another Brent Venables masterpiece through the first five games. They might be going about defending teams in a different way but the results have still been there. The back end has been good so far. The only real question is if the front seven can hold up against the run when facing some of the better teams they will face, particularly in the postseason, but it’s never wise to bet against Venables.
When Florida State gets to town next weekend and the team coming out of its bye week, expect to see a much sharper Clemson team. Expect to see a more focused Tiger team. A team that is gearing up for a run at another national title.
