Kirk Herbstreit isn’t ready to bury Clemson after that brutal opening-night flop.
On ESPN’s Get Up, the veteran broadcaster pointed to the Tigers’ three-game run since their 51-10 loss to LSU and said Dabo Swinney’s team deserves real credit for how it has responded. Herbstreit noted that after Week 1, “everyone mock[ed] and laugh[ed] at” Clemson, but the Tigers have since steadied themselves.
“Since then, they've gone back to work,” said Herbstreit. “They found a way to beat North Carolina after that lightning delay. They went out to Cal, which is never easy to do, travel across the country, [and] won that football game.”
Clemson’s rebound has come in layers. The Tigers followed the LSU defeat with an ugly 22-7 win over Georgia Southern, then handled North Carolina 28-20 and California 24-10.
That run has put them in position to face a major test in Week 5, when they host No. 4 Miami.
The defense, especially against the pass, has shown the clearest signs of life. LSU picked apart Clemson for 9.3 yards per pass and two touchdowns in the opener, but since then the Tigers haven’t allowed more than 5.3 yards per pass in any game. Over the last three contests, Clemson has given up two passing touchdowns and picked off three passes.
Herbstreit’s praise also fits the bigger conversation around Swinney, whose program took a hit after a 7-6 season a year ago, the worst he had experienced since 2010, when he was in his second full season as Clemson’s coach. The comments on Get Up touched on the idea that the game had passed Swinney by, and on the reality that the transfer portal era has not been his preferred version of college football.
Even with the rough start, Clemson still has a path to make noise. The Hurricanes are the only remaining ranked team on the Tigers’ regular-season schedule, while Duke, which enters Week 5 at 4-0, is the other notable opportunity for the conference to add another ranked opponent.
After a Week 1 embarrassment, Clemson has forced the conversation to change. Week 5 against Miami could push it even further.
In Other News...
Miami Looked Like A Title Contender But One Concern Is Growing
Miamis win over Clemson did a lot more than add another quality result to the rsum. The Hurricanes backed it up with a defense that held Clemson to 13 points and just one touchdown, while the offense found enough explosive plays to keep control of the game. Cooper Barkate delivered the kind of breakout performance that can change the feel of a season, highlighted by a 61-yard touchdown catch, and Darian Mensah added scoring through both the air and on the ground.
The problem for Miami was everything that happened around the win. The Hurricanes were dealing with multiple injuries by the end of the game, including to key offensive linemen and cornerbacks, and while some players were able to return after leaving, the list of in-game issues kept growing. For a team that just looked every bit like a title contender, the concern now is less about whether Miami can beat top competition and more about how long it can keep doing it with so many bodies being asked to hold up. [Read more 🡒]
Miamis Biggest Worry After Clemson Has Nothing To Do With The Score
Miami left Clemson with a convincing 40-13 win in a primetime matchup, and the performance had the feel of a complete road statement even with several key players banged up along the way. The Hurricanes absorbed injuries on both lines and in the secondary, yet the defense still smothered Clemsons rushing attack and finished with six sacks while the ground game produced 192 yards and three touchdowns.
The bigger concern now is less about the scoreboard and more about how Miami comes out of it physically as the calendar turns to Florida State. A rivalry game of that size demands depth and health, and the Hurricanes have already seen how quickly their margin can shrink when the injuries start to pile up. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Just Gave The ACC No Real Case Against No. 1
Miamis win over Clemson did more than add another eye-catching result to the ledger. It gave the Hurricanes a weekend built on both style and substance, the kind of showing that tends to linger in the ACC pecking order. With Miami stacking up as the leagues benchmark in scoring and defense, the argument around the top spot is starting to look less like a debate and more like an acknowledgment of what has already happened on the field.
Around the conference, a few teams flashed enough to keep the race interesting, from Pitt and Duke to SMU and Louisville, while others like Florida State, Virginia Tech and Clemson continue sorting out where they really fit. But Miamis combination of a statement win and season-long consistency leaves the ACC with a familiar problem: if the No. 1 team keeps handling its biggest tests, there may not be much left to argue about. The next stretch will show whether anyone can make that case anyway. [Read more 🡒]