The 2016-17 Clemson Tigers may have hoisted the trophy when it was all said and done, but their road to the College Football Playoff National Championship was anything but dominant. According to ESPN’s Bill Connelly, they rank as the second-worst team to ever win it all in the CFP era - a surprising placement for a squad that beat Alabama in the title game. But when you dig into the details of that season, it’s not hard to see why.
Let’s start with the early turbulence. Clemson opened the year with a narrow escape against Auburn - a game that set the tone for a rocky first half of the season.
Auburn’s defense, led by coordinator Kevin Steele and featuring young assistants Wesley McGriff and Travis Williams, gave Deshaun Watson fits. Watson was picked off by Rudy Ford and finished with just 248 passing yards - his third-lowest total against a Power 5 opponent that year.
That’s saying something for a quarterback who was usually putting up video game numbers.
And it wasn’t just Auburn. Clemson needed everything it had to get past Troy and a Lamar Jackson-led Louisville squad that was as dangerous as any team in the country at the time. The Tigers were walking a tightrope, and eventually, they slipped - falling to Pitt in mid-November in a game that exposed some of their vulnerabilities.
But here’s where the story flips.
That Pitt loss lit a fire under Dabo Swinney’s team. What followed was a stretch of football that looked more like the Clemson we remember - the one that could hang with anyone, anywhere.
They crushed South Carolina in a rivalry game that was never close, held off a solid Virginia Tech team in the ACC Championship, and then delivered a defensive masterpiece in a 31-0 shutout of Ohio State in the semifinal. That’s not just winning - that’s sending a message.
And then came the classic.
Down 10 in the fourth quarter of the national championship game against Alabama, Clemson played nearly flawless football. Watson, who had been tested all season, delivered under the brightest lights. The Tigers wore down a Tide defense that had looked unbeatable all year, and with just one second left on the clock, they completed the comeback - a title-winning touchdown that instantly became part of college football lore.
Still, Connelly’s ranking isn’t about how the season ended - it’s about the full body of work. And when you look at the close calls and the inconsistency early on, it’s fair to say this wasn’t the most dominant run we’ve seen from a national champion.
They didn’t steamroll their schedule like some others have. They had to fight, adjust, and grow into the team that ultimately took down Nick Saban’s Alabama.
As for that Auburn team Clemson barely beat? They finished 8-5, but it was a strange ride.
After a 1-2 start that included losses to Clemson and Texas A&M, they ripped off six straight wins and climbed into the top 10 before dropping three of their last four - including rivalry losses to Georgia and Alabama, and a Sugar Bowl defeat at the hands of Oklahoma. At the time, it felt like a letdown.
In hindsight, that season has aged pretty well - especially considering the struggles Auburn’s had in the years since.
So yes, Clemson’s 2016-17 title run wasn’t perfect. But sometimes greatness isn’t about perfection.
It’s about how you respond when things don’t go according to plan. And in that regard, the Tigers delivered a championship journey that was as gritty as it was memorable.