No underachieving for this Clemson team

Satisfying the skeptics seems like a tall order, which was why tight end Jordan Leggett and his Clemson teammates reveled in coach Dabo Swinney’s rant after their win over Georgia Tech.

“I really don’t think we’ll get respect until we win the national championship or we make it to the playoffs,” Leggett said Monday. “As long as we keep winning, keep our eyes looking straight ahead and not listen to all the hype, I think we’ll be OK. We have a lot of momentum just being 5-0, so we’re going to keep it rolling.”

Swinney dressed down a reporter, who in trying to inquire about the team’s ability to refocus after the exhausting win over Notre Dame and deliver a dominant performance against Georgia Tech, mentioned “Clemsoning.”

In broad strokes the word characterizes underachievement, a perception that lingers despite Swinney’s success at changing the program’s culture and Clemson’s steady climb in the polls.

Since 2011, Clemson has defeated 31 unranked opponents (33 unranked by the AP poll), has won its last eight games (tied for the nation’s fifth longest streak) and 14 of its last 15. A win Saturday over Boston College would mark the best 16-game stretch in 66 years when Clemson won 15 in a row, and a record 14^th straight in Death Valley, breaking streaks set in 1930 – before the construction of Memorial Stadium – and 2012. Clemson also has the nation’s fourth-longest string of wins at home.

“People had justification in the past to say it,” said co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott, a receiver on Clemson teams when the word was applicable. “There’s nothing we have done in the last several years that’s warranted it.”

The early line on the Boston College game lists Clemson as a 16-point favorite, and given the struggles by teams ahead of the Tigers in the polls, this could be one of those games.

BC presents a unique challenge as the top-ranked defense in college football, a mantel Clemson owned last season. Leggett, who caught two touchdown passes in the 43-24 win over Georgia Tech, said the experience facing his team’s defense has been beneficial.

“We saw the No. 1 defense a lot last year,” he said. “And I still think we’ve got the No. 1 defense, so it’s nothing different we haven’t seen at practice.”

BC leads in both rush defense and pass defense, allowing 1.43 yards per rush and limiting opposing quarterbacks to 45.7 percent passing. BC has lost three of its last four games yet limited Florida State to 217 yards (98 rushing), Duke to 228 yards (33 rushing) and Wake Forest to 132 yards (33 rushing).

“Statistically, you’ve got to respect what they’ve done,” said Elliott. “They’ve given up one offensive touchdown in an ACC game. They’re physical, they’ve got a lot of experience in the front seven,” he said. “On the back end they’re long, athletic. They’re like Notre Dame. They’re tough. They’re physical.”

Tending to favor loading the front to stop the run and man coverage, Leggett likes his team’s chances.

“You really just can’t be right with our offense,” he said. “We have answers for everything.”

Leggett wished he’d been present for Swinney’s rant.

“I think the players would have given him a little round of applause,” he said. “It just gives us a sense that our head coach has our back. He doesn’t like to take anything from anybody.

“Nobody had seen that side of Coach Swinney before. It felt good that he wasn’t yelling at us.”

Elliott agreed that while Clemson might have deserved some criticism in the past, they don’t now.

“For me it’s always humbling. I know from where we came, and I know we can’t lose our edge, lose our culture,” he said. “At the same time, when is enough enough?”

This story was originally published October 13, 2015 at 9:19 PM with the headline "No underachieving for this Clemson team."