We don’t know just how Clemson will do this year but we do know this: anyone who picks Wake Forest ahead of Clemson vastly overestimates Wake Forest and underestimates Clemson and in both cases it comes down to coaching; Brad Brownell is an excellent coach while Danny Manning has been a disappointment.
Certainly Manning has had more talent and that’s not a huge surprise. Wake Forest is capable of attracting good players.
Generally speaking, Clemson has, through the decades, had if not less talent then certainly less skilled talent than the dominant North Carolina teams.
Brownell has managed to keep Clemson competitive despite that and we expect that will continue this season.