The Clemson Tigers won the school's second national championship last season, cementing themselves as one of the truly elite programs in the country. Yes, Deshaun Watson is gone and that will really hurt Clemson, but this program is more than just one player. Here are three reasons why Clemson will win another ACC title this year:
3) Favorable schedule
Clemson only has three games on their schedule that figure to be against teams ranked in preseason polls, and they get two of those games (Auburn, Florida State) at home. Their only road game against a team of that caliber is on Sept. 16 against Louisville, and despite them having Lamar Jackson, they are having to replace virtually every other impact player from last year's team. Clemson will likely be favored in every game they play, and as such, the wins will follow.
2) Plenty of returning talent
Yes, Clemson is losing a good deal of their star power from last season's championship team. However, they also 12 starters, including seven on defense - which is the most they've had under defensive coordinator Brent Venables. The Tigers also have plenty of talent ready to replace their departed stars, as all of their past five recruiting classes have ranked in the top 17 nationally. There will be some new names and new faces, but in total, most of this Clemson team will be familiar - a scary thought for the college football world.
1) Dabo Swinney's greatness
Watson received much of the praise and credit for Clemson's rise to national champions, and while he deserves it, it also undermines just how great Dabo Swinney has been. The Tigers have won at least 10 games every year since 2011, and they are 6-1 in their last seven bowl games (lone loss coming in the 2015 national title game). Clemson has only lost five conference games in the last five years, and they've only lost three home games in that same time frame under Swinney.
Dabo has made Clemson arguably the most dominant program of the decade. It's time he gets recognized as such.
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