Fowler: Clemson on Verge of Greatness
If the Clemson Tigers defeat LSU, capture their third national title in four years — fourth overall in school history — and complete a 30-game winning streak on Jan. 13 in LSU’s own backyard, no less, the team could go down as one of the best of all time.
For ESPN analysts Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit, that would mean greatness.
“To me, it's as great as anything we've ever seen,” Fowler said about Clemson’s place in history if the team can bring home the championship. “You're talking about three out of four years, beating an Alabama, win their first championship, 12-0 Notre Dame team, 14-0 'Bama team last year, 13-0 Ohio State team, 14-0 LSU team in the Superdome? Come on.”
Fowler said that despite what some would call a less-than-demanding ACC schedule, Clemson’s dominance since 2015 has put the Tigers in the same conversation as other legendary programs throughout history.
“I know that their conference hasn't been as demanding as others in history for sure, but that's just a ridiculous amount of post-season excellence, and it would put them right (there) with anything else,” Fowler said. “You're just not supposed to be able to do that anymore.”
Herbstreit echoed Fowler’s sentiments about Clemson’s potential history-making legacy.
“You know, if you envision this game on Monday night, LSU could win and wrap up just an incredible season that we'll be talking about for decades, or on the other hand, Clemson could win, and we'll be talking about not just an incredible run this year, but we'll be talking about three out of four, and Chris just went through the gauntlet of teams they beat,” Herbstreit said.
In the Dabo Swinney era, which began midway through the 2008 season, the Tigers defeated Alabama in the national title game in 2016 and 2018. The team fell to Alabama in the championship game in 2015 and made an appearance in the College Football Playoff in 2017. Clemson has won the ACC six times during the period, including the last five conference championships.
With few chinks in their armor on either side of the ball, the Tigers of 2019 have looked as strong as any team that has preceded them, riding the crest of a historic winning streak and led by a dynamic offense behind sophomore quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who used his arm and his feet to dispatch Ohio State in the semifinal game of the playoffs, and a defense that has been stingy in the red zone.
If Clemson is making a case for being added to the Mount Rushmore of superlative teams throughout history, the LSU Tigers, who also play in a place called “Death Valley,” have a storied franchise all their own that includes three national titles (1958, 2003 and 2007) and 16 SEC titles.
LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, who recently won the Heisman Trophy and helped his team crush Oklahoma by a score of 63-28 during the semifinal round of the College Football Playoff a couple weeks ago, has been breaking records all season. Add to Burrow’s domination talented skill players around him on offense and a tough run defense on the other side of the ball, and LSU will likely serve as a formidable challenge to Clemson’s title aspirations.
Fowler said if Clemson completes the journey and downs LSU, the Tigers' body of work the last several years will be nearly unprecedented, with more potential success to come.
“You go back-to-back, and the teams they've had to beat to keep that streak alive, for me it's just crazy,” Fowler said. “I don't know how many times it'll be duplicated in the history of the sport. And they've got Trevor another year, by the way, so they can still build on that.”
Herbstreit, whose twin sons Jake and Tye play for Clemson, said he thinks Clemson will move to 15-0 on the season and enter 2020 with its winning streak in tact.
“I think the winning streak continues, goes into the 2020 season,” he said. “Trevor is coming back. You look at the last five years, they (the Tigers) have the highest winning percentage already in the entire country. I think they are the — whoever the standard is. If it's been Nick Saban and Alabama. If they (the Tigers) win, you can make an argument they're already there. They're already right next to Alabama. And if they win this game, I think they are the team right now.”
Although critics have complained that Clemson has not had a strong strength of schedule through much of its 29-game winning streak, if the team can defeat LSU, Clemson’s place among the greats will no longer be a matter of opinion, Herbstreit said.
“I think he (head coach Dabo Swinney) was so frustrated so much — (Swinney said) ‘Is anybody watching my team play?’” Herbstreit said. “‘Has anybody watched us these last five years?’ Just because of all the amazing things they've accomplished.”
“The great thing is it's not objective,” he added. “They (the Tigers) have a chance to get the last laugh, and they're 60 minutes away from doing some things that we just haven't seen — ever.”
