re: Rece Davis doubling down and says Clemson is still going to win the Championship LMFAO

quote:

---

yeah, if you blatantly disregard what you literally just saw in week 1

---

Clemson plays 3 ranked teams the rest of the season and only one (South Carolina) team ranked in the top 10. They probably have some of the best odds to make the playoff. If their offense can be a bit more consistent, they certainly can make a run.

Don't forget, LSU was very close to losing to a mediocre Texas team early in the year in 2019. Teams can improve as the year goes on.

And our defense had some god awful games that year. Point being, teams can improve. Clemson has the schedule to walk into the playoff if they handle business. It's not outlandish to think that they improve as the season goes on and contend for a national title. Certainly not outlandish enough for OP to get his panties in a wad that Rece Davis (a guy who gets paid to commentate on college football) has the gall to stick with his preseason prediction after one game.

quote:

---

This is the worst that our brand new defense will play

---

as much as I’d like that to hold true there’s no guarantee of that

quote:

---

so it's no more silly to pick Clemson than it is to pick LSU, Georgia, Oregon, Miami, Penn State, etc.

---

It is silly. The first 3 in that list actually have the talent to go through a 3-4 playoff game gauntlet

Clemson can beat anyone in a single game if things go well, but they simply aren't capable of getting through multiple games lined up against equal or superior talent

10 points at home against a completely new defense in Week 1 is inexcusable and they were never a threat to punish LSU. They did not resemble a DL loaded with first round talent against a completely new OL. They are not up for the challenge, coaching or personnel wise

quote:

---

It is silly. The first 3 in that list actually have the talent to go through a 3-4 playoff game gauntlet

Clemson can beat anyone in a single game if things go well, but they simply aren't capable of getting through multiple games lined up against equal or superior talent

10 points at home against a completely new defense in Week 1 is inexcusable. They are not up for the challenge, coaching or personnel wise

---

That's a whole lot of absolutes after week 1. I feel really good about where we stand right now and I choose not to let the fact that other people may still believe that Clemson is a good football team bother me. In fact, I welcome it. The more Clemson is propped up the better our win looks.

quote:

---

What about Josh Pate?

---

He picked Bama but sounds like he is off that train. Likely never picking LSU lol

quote:

---

That's a whole lot of absolutes after week 1. I feel really good about where we stand right now and I choose not to let the fact that other people may still believe that Clemson is a good football team bother me. In fact, I welcome it. The more Clemson is propped up the better our win looks.

---

Exactly. The loser of this game was never going to be out of the playoff race because of conference schedules. Both LSU and Clemson have it all in front of them.

Clemson has a much easier schedule moving forward (ranked opp SMU, FSU, USCe).

With LSU winning this game, it gives them some margin for error with their tough conference schedule remaining (ranked opp Fl, Ole Miss, USCe, TX A&M, Bama, Oklahoma).

quote:

---

That's a whole lot of absolutes after week 1. I feel really good about where we stand right now and I choose not to let the fact that other people may still believe that Clemson is a good football team bother me. In fact, I welcome it. The more Clemson is propped up the better our win looks.

---

Their preseason All-American QB couldn't complete more than half his passes and didn't have a single completion that traveled more than 20 yards in the air

They have no running game - their RBs combined for a whopping 19 yards with a team average (adjusted for sacks) of 2.9 yards / carry. That's horrible

None of their receivers stood out against the (new) LSU secondary

The DL loaded with NFL talent got half its pressures on a completely new OL when DJ Chester was playing LT

Either LSU is the eventual national champion and it's not close, or that's a seriously flawed team. With all the new faces, LSU should have been the team sputtering along, not the team returning nearly everything playing at home. Clemson under Swinney doesn't make leaps and bounds over the course of seasons. They end up who they come in as, in recent years it's been just been easier to figure that out right away (2025 LSU, 2024 UGA, 2023 Duke). Assuming they take care of business against their joke schedule, no one is going to be upset to draw them in the playoff

quote:

---

Clemson has a much easier schedule moving forward (ranked opp SMU, FSU, USCe)

---

If we're talking about an actual NC contender, their path to the playoff shouldn't even be contemplated. It should completely go without saying

Clemson's issue isn't getting to the playoff, it's what's going to happen to them when they do. They were out-coached and out-executed at what should have been their "welcome back to national contention" party at home (which became the same party for their opponent breaking in a ton of new pieces in enemy territory)

And assume the coaching and execution improves by bounds (not a safe assumption) - the biggest learning from Saturday might be that Dabo fricked up the portal again. They're going to be out-personnel'ed. You can't fix all 3 with the season underway

They are DOA this season, full stop

quote:

---

Rece blows

---

I didn't realize he was an Aggie...