Paul Finebaum With Another Terrible Take On Clemson

Since kicking in the glass ceiling of the College Football Playoff during the 2015 season, the Clemson Tigers have been a constant in college football’s four-team tournament to crown a national champions.

The Tigers have made six consecutive appearances in the playoff, winning two national titles along the way.

However, ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum thinks Clemson is the least likely of the four teams that made it in last season to return in 2021. Just one more example of the longtime ESPN analyst doubting Dabo Swinney’s program.

“I would take Clemson out for this reason, Greeny,” Finebaum said to Mike Greenburg on Wednesday’s edition of Get Up. “They meet the team that I think can get in in the first game of the season. You have Georgia and Clemson in Charlotte, and if Georgia wins this game, and right now I think they’re going to, they vault to number one in the country perhaps. And yes, they still have to deal with Alabama later in the year in the SEC Championship game, but that would probably be about it. I think they’ll get by Florida and everybody else on their schedule. So, we could see a changing of the guard by the end of the first weekend of the regular season.”

The biggest reason why this is a terrible take is because a one-loss ACC Champion has yet to be left out. Clemson’s season is most certainly not over if they were to suffer a loss to the Dawgs in the season opener in Charlotte.

Another flaw in the logic is giving Notre Dame a better shot at getting back than Clemson. The Irish lose some key pieces from last year’s team, including veteran quarterback Ian Book, and also have the tougher road, despite Georgia being on the Tigers schedule.

Another reason this is a terrible take is because when was the last time Clemson has lost consecutive games? If you don’t know I can tell you that it has been awhile. Almost a decade in fact. The last time it happened was in 2011 when North Carolina State and South Carolina handed the Tigers losses in back-to-back games.

The Tigers 49-28 loss to Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl to end last season left a sour taste in mouth of everyone inside of the program. It’s safe to assume that this Clemson team will come out plenty motivated in an effort to ensure they do not have a repeat performance.