Clemson Football: Why the Florida State loss hurts so much.
It seems self-explanatory; the worst day of any college football fan's season is the second loss. Although it hurts, teams can survive one loss, but two is death. Clemson fans felt that pain on Saturday as the Tigers fell in overtime to Florida State.
But as we sit here a day later, the feeling around this one feels different than years past. It's not a new timeframe, Clemson lost two of the first four games in 2021. It's not losing to Florida State, the 'Noles were due for a win against Clemson, but there's something that made the loss on Saturday feel different.
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One of the biggest reasons is the fact that Clemson was the better team on Saturday. The Tigers outgained Florida State 429-311. They also held FSU to 22 yards on the ground while rushing for 146, but the in the brief moments where the Tigers had a lapse, Florida State took advantage in a big way. Missed field goals and turnovers once again cost Clemson.
However, the most painful consequence from the loss has to be wasting such a talented team. Sure, this is Klubnik's first season as a starter and he has a lot of good football to play, Garrett Riley and Wes Goodwin will continue to develop, and Clemson has a lot of young talent, but so much incredible talent won't be here next season. Davis, Orhorhoro, Trotter, Carter, Wiggins, and a host of other Tigers will likely hear their names called in the upcoming Draft. Clemson had a team as talented as any in the country and their postseason hopes were dashed in week four. It's okay if this one takes a while to get over.
