CBS Sports Analyst Sees Clemson at Crossroads This Season

Despite Clemson Tigers football aiming for a successful season, with coaching additions and its player retention rate, a college football host raises a question for the Tigers after this season, if it doesn’t go as planned. 

CBS Sports' Josh Pate, an online host of Josh Pate’s College Football Show, raised questions about the future of Clemson’s football program. He said if the team has an underwhelming year, tough questions could arise. 

Head coach Dabo Swinney had the highest retention rate in the country, 80%, which included 86% of the team’s starting offense. In theory, Clemson should be expected to have a lot of success this year, potentially even push for another national championship.

“Who can I depend on the most?” Pate said. “Well, why not Clemson? When are they going to do it again if they don’t do it this year?”

The Tigers took home the ACC championship in two of the last three seasons with quarterback Cade Klubnik at the helm. Pate also marked that the team had 21 underclassmen who played 200 snaps or more, which led the FBS last season. 

Despite all of this, Pate describes Clemson’s situation as a “fork in the road/" They either win the national championship and elevate Swinney’s legacy, or underperform to fit the frame that the Tigers’ time of contention at the national level may end. 

On the first route, if Swinney can win a national championship on the limited use of NIL and the transfer portal compared to other squads, Pate describes it as a “testament to 10 different things."

“If after all that, not only does he stay afloat, but he wins a national title, I don’t remember a bigger ‘I told you so’ in the recent modern era of college football,” Pate said.

On the other hand, a 9-3 or 8-4 season, or even a missed College Football Playoff appearance, could cause a change by the national media in how it views Clemson, downgrading to a program that’s a step below a national championship contender. 

“It wouldn’t be disastrous,” Pate said. “But, it would be a pretty telling sign that Clemson’s time in that conversation might be done.”

There is a “third path” that Pate describes, which is similar to how Clemson finished this year. If the Tigers were to win the ACC Championship and not make much noise in the postseason, similar to their demise against Texas in the opening round of the College Football Playoff, it would keep a steady view. 

It’s a reason why the Tigers are one of Pate’s most intriguing teams to watch this season: There’s a wide variety that could change the way the program is viewed for years to come. 

“That’s why it’s so intriguing,” Pate said. “It can go a number of different ways, but they can legitimately win the national title.”

The host’s questions could have solutions in Clemson’s opening clash with the LSU Tigers on Aug. 30, where Swinney is thrown a top-10 squad in the first week of the season. 

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