In 2008, the Clemson football program thought it had finally arrived. After nearly two decades of playing second fiddle to Florida State in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Tigers were once again the favorite to win the ACC.
The Tigers returned a ton of star players from an offense that set many team records in 2007. They were the preseason No. 9 ranked team by both the Associated Press and the USA TODAY Coaches Poll.
But, it quickly became obvious Clemson was not where it needed to be when it played Alabama in the season-opener in Atlanta.