Three-Point Stance: Clemson, USC, ACC recruiting

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s thought-provoking Three-Point Stance is here with some thoughts on Clemson, USC’s rebound and a breakdown of ACC recruiting.

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I picked the Clemson Tigers to win the national title this season. Last year, I picked them to get to the playoffs and just fall short. I thought we were watching the 2012 FSU football team last season that would turn into the 2013 national title-winning FSU football team the next year.

DeShaun Watson was Jameis Winston, the combination of veteran leadership and amazing young talent would come together, go undefeated and win it all in 2016. And I’m not the kind of guy to back off that type of prediction when there is still a chance that happens.

But my goodness Clemson, what are you doing?

Everyone can say Clemson almost beat itself this past weekend against N.C. State with the turnovers, but let’s be real – N.C. State blew that game. A chip shot, straight on 33-yard field goal to win the game and destroy Clemson’s shot at a national title was pushed right and the Tigers got lucky. And you could say the Tigers got lucky against Auburn, Louisville and even Troy this season.

The thing I liked about Clemson was that I figured it would find a way to win the tough games and it showed that a couple of weekends ago against a talented Louisville team despite blowing a big lead. But this past weekend? The Tigers put the ball on the ground, Watson missed wide open receivers downfield and threw a pick six, and they couldn’t run the ball even if Wayne Gallman was playing. If they had played Alabama or Ohio State, they would have lost by three scores.

I don’t know what’s wrong with Clemson, especially on offense, but it just doesn’t look physical or sharp. And yet it sits at 7-0, controls its own destiny in the ACC and is No. 4 in the country. But I fully expected Watson to be better (yes his stats are fine, but he’s missing guys), I expected Jordan Leggett to be more dominant and I expected the receiver group to dominate everyone. And that doesn’t even address the offensive line, which looks terrible.

The defense was the side of the ball I expected to come along and peak near mid-season and it has been excellent from the start. But Clemson is lucky to be alive after this weekend and should have lost. The Tigers better stop turning over the ball, get a little bit angry at the way they are playing offensively and turn things up at least two or three notches or they won’t get a chance at a rematch against Alabama for the national title this year as I expected.

Just when you thought USC was dead in the water. Just when you thought Clay Helton was in over his head and headed toward being fired. Just when you thought there was no solving the issues for the Trojans this season – everything has changed.

I’ll admit, I was one of those who felt Helton was a bad hire after a lazy coaching search by Pat Haden. And that could still be true. But let’s give credit where credit is due. Helton has taken a Trojans team that appeared to have quit against Alabama and couldn’t care less against Stanford into a team coming off three straight big wins and is suddenly a competitor in the Pac-12 South.

The move to Sam Darnold at quarterback has energized this team and we’re starting to see players like JuJu Smith-Schuster and Justin Davis come to life. But I’ve been most impressed with the defense, the same group that gave up 52 points to Alabama and 300 yards rushing to a mediocre Stanford team, as the Trojans have stuffed some potent offenses recently.

I understand that Arizona State, Colorado and especially Arizona aren’t the best teams, but a month ago it looked as if USC would lose two of these games. Good for Helton and certainly good for recruiting, which is a big question mark this cycle.

With recruiting at the slow point in the middle of the season, I'm taking a snapshot of recruiting in each Power Five conference. I've already done the SEC. Today, here is a look at the ACC.

Biggest get – Quarterback Hunter Johnson to Clemson is a huge one not only for the Tigers, but for the conference. The quarterback play in the ACC has surpassed every other Power Five conference and landing guys like this should continue that trend.

Out-of-state steal – Since I won’t count Johnson twice here, I’m going to go with Clemson again landing cornerback A.J. Terrell from Georgia. The Tigers pulled him away from the SEC as the Georgia Bulldogs were the in-state threat and Auburn and Florida appeared to lead at one point.

Biggest surprise – Back in May, it was defensive end TyJuan Garbutt choosing the Hokies over Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and others, but he has since de-committed (legitimizing the surprise). With Deonte Johnson committing across the country to Miami in July over offers from numerous Pac- 12 teams, this one came as a bit of a stunner, but a good get for Mark Richt and company.

Surprising class – Clemson, FSU and Miami in the national top 15 is not surprising, but how about Duke at No. 20? The Blue Devils have a pair of four-star recruits and a ton of highly recruited three-stars as well. With a 2.95 average star ranking, they will need a few more four-stars to stay in the top 25 nationally, but this is certainly an impressive effort.

Struggling class – Pitt has 15 commitments with one four-star, but the average star ranking in the class is lower than everyone in the conference except for Wake Forest, Boston College, Virginia and Syracuse. The Panthers are better than that and really need guys like five-star DB Lamont Wade to stay home.

Recruiting battle to watch – With Richt at Miami, I’m keeping an eye on the ‘Canes vs. 'Noles this year and moving forward. FSU holds a clear advantage due to owning the state and there might not be a ton of battles down the stretch for 2017, but there will be for 2018 and beyond.

Must keep – This is always a tough one because of the overlap with SEC recruiting, but I’ll go with Devon Hunter from Virginia. Jarez Parks was my choice when I did this back in May, but it appears Florida and Alabama have taken a good lead with FSU trailing. I could go with Wade and Pitt, but so many other conferences are in the mix for him (SEC with Tennessee, Big Ten with Penn State, Big 12 with West Virginia and Pac-12 with UCLA) that Hunter makes more sense. Virginia Tech and North Carolina are in the mix here, with the Hokies the team to beat but Florida and others are charging hard.

Do or die – Georgia Tech had one commitment back in May but has since added 12 quality commits. Still, Paul Johnson needs to finish strong in recruiting. You could say Boston College and Steve Addazio here as well, but BC’s class is nearly full and many think he’s out the door. The Jackets need to pull some recruiting upsets.

Best 2018 get – It was no surprise when Dalvin Cook’s little brother, James Cook, decided to commit to Florida State but it’s still a huge get out of Miami for the 'Noles.