Ask Farrell: Will Clemson repeat as champs?
The criticism of Clemson all season – fairly or unfairly – is that the Tigers have not played any team with a pulse.
The schedule does read like a Who’s Who of mediocrity: Georgia Tech. Texas A&M. Syracuse. Charlotte. North Carolina. Florida State. Louisville. Boston College. Wofford. NC State. Wake Forest. And Clemson wraps up the regular season against woeful South Carolina with coach Will Muschamp on the hot seat.
But does any of this mean that Clemson is still not the best team in college football?
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Here are some things to consider: Clemson has scored more than 50 points in the last four games and the Tigers could have scored much more if they were in the business of running up scores.
They’re outscoring opponents 46-11 this season and won all games by double digits except when escaping Chapel Hill, 21-20, back in late September.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence has hit his stride in the last month and his stats are now through the roof as expected. Running back Travis Etienne might be the best in college football and the receiving corps is as good as any in the country.
Changes on defense from last season? Well, Clemson is not even allowing 110 rushing yards per game and only 128.5 passing yards. The Tigers have allowed 14 offensive touchdowns all season. To compare, Clemson has scored 65.
The ACC is down, no doubt about it. And Clemson does not play a tough schedule, no doubt about it. Those things are hardly even worth debating.
But we ask Rivals National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell after watching LSU, Ohio State, Georgia, Alabama and others: Is Clemson still the best team in the country and do the Tigers have what it takes to repeat as national champions?
FARRELL'S TAKE
"I picked Alabama to win it all this year but now I have to go with Clemson. The roster talent is amazing but it all comes down to the quarterback and I believe in Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence is just starting to warm up this season and this team has been there before obviously with the national title win last year.
"Ohio State is loaded but I wonder how Justin Fields will react to the pressure. Joe Burrow looks amazing and LSU is stacked but again there are question marks because the Tigers haven't been there before.
"I don't care about the ACC schedule and how weak it is. I care about roster talent, experience and what happens when the pressure hits. That's why Clemson wins it all again."