Defending ACC champ Clemson sets CFP goal

David Hale, ESPN Staff WriterJul 27, 2023, 04:40 PM ET
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- ACC reporter.
- Joined ESPN in 2012.
- Graduate of the University of Delaware.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Clemson is the defending ACC champion, but after two straight seasons outside the College Football Playoff, players said they won’t be satisfied with less than a national title in 2023.

“We’re not going to look down on an 11-3 ACC championship season,” QB Cade Klubnik said at Thursday’s ACC Kickoff event. “There’s a lot of teams that wish they could have that type of year. But at the end of the day, that’s our goal, is winning a national championship. Last year was a good year, but we’ve got bigger goals.”

Clemson went to the College Football Playoff every season from 2015 through 2020, including national titles in 2016 and 2018, but the Tigers have lost three games in each of the past two years.

The Tigers were in position for a playoff berth in 2022, but a late collapse against South Carolina in the regular-season finale ended their hopes.

“We’ve had 12 really, really good years in a row,” head coach Dabo Swinney said. “It’s hard to get to a final four when there’s 133 teams trying to do it. We’ve been there as much as anybody. If not going eight years in a row means we stink, well, I guess we stink, but maybe we can get back there this year and be able to say we went seven out of the last nine years. That would be a pretty cool accomplishment.”

After last year’s bowl loss to Tennessee, Swinney fired offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter — the first firing on his staff since defensive coordinator Kevin Steele was let go after the 2011 season — and brought in Garrett Riley to call plays.

Riley helped TCU to the national championship game last season, and Swinney expects him to spark a Clemson offense that has sputtered frequently since Trevor Lawrence departed for the NFL two years ago.

“We’ve got to be better in our pass offense and our pass defense, and if we keep everything else the same,” Swinney said. “We were one play away last year, one point from being in the playoff. And if you get in the playoff, anything’s possible. So we’ve just got to improve in some areas we weren’t quite as good last year.”

Clemson tracks offseason metrics on strength and speed numbers, and Swinney said this year’s team has the most players running 20 mph since they began monitoring speed in 2014, as well as a record number of players hitting personal records in the weight room. Clemson also charts things like “accountability,” and Swinney said this year’s squad has been among his best at that, too.

“This is the most accountable team we’ve had in six or seven years,” Swinney said. “What does that mean? I don’t know, but it’s a good indication of the type of focus you have and the type of leadership you have.”

For players like defensive tackle Tyler Davis, who lost the 2019 national championship game to LSU as a freshman, those metrics show a focus from this year’s team on winning a title that has eluded him throughout his career.

“That’s the reason I came back is to win a national championship,” Davis said. “It’s not a [national title or] bust, but my goal is to win a national championship.”

Clemson opens the 2023 season against Duke on Sept. 4.