CBS Sports grades Clemson football at midseason |
CBS Sports graded the ACC at midseason this week,
including Clemson's 4-2 start.
Dabo Swinney's Tigers started at No. 9 preseason in the polls but suffered a shocking opener loss at Duke and missed opportunities to knock off a top-5-ranked Florida State at home. CBS judges Clemson a little over average with a C+. "Graded against the rest of the ACC, Clemson is firmly in the top half among its peers and boasts one of the best defenses in the country alongside an offense that seemed to find a groove by the end of September," CBS Sports' Chip Patterson said. "Grading Clemson by its own standard and the preseason expectations of ACC championship contention is a different story. The offense that seemed to be surging hit a bit of a rut against Wake Forest last week with its worst yards-per-play performance of the season. Another 10-win season is an attainable goal, but with a 2-2 ACC record to this point, another conference crown seems like a long shot." FSU is graded with an A. "Now that Florida State has entered October with its College Football Playoff contender status certified, there has been some nitpicking," Patterson said. "Still, a big-picture view of where the Seminoles stand, especially in the context of the ACC, demands the highest of grades. Coach Mike Norvell led this group back from halftime deficits against LSU in Orlando and Clemson in Death Valley, with the latter being arguably the most impressive conference win of the season. Sitting at 5-0 with a top-four AP poll ranking, the path is clear for FSU as long as it can continue its winning ways." Next for Clemson is a trip to Miami next week, which carries a B grade. "Our voters dropped Miami out of the top 25 of the CBS Sports 133 after the crushing loss to Georgia Tech, and the AP voters nearly did as well," Patterson said. "I understand the instant reaction in the polls and rankings, but if we're grading the season as a whole, we cannot erase the credit awarded to a team that blitzed past Texas A&M in Week 2 and carried an undefeated record into the month of October; however, the strength of those other wins are not enough to outweigh the penalty for the Georgia Tech loss. While a lot of things seemed to be going well, we've hit a midseason crossroads for a team that has goals of competing for an ACC championship. The opportunities are there with games against UNC, Clemson, Florida State and Louisville left on the schedule." Among other upcoming opponents, unbeaten UNC has an A, NC State has a C and Georgia Tech has a C as well.
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