Clemson Tigers: All Bark and No Bite?

Now, before all the hate comments start flooding in, I wasn’t even considering writing an article about this until I read a comment in another forum regarding the Clemson Tigers. 

Long story short, the poster said he leaned towards Alabama in Week 1 for a number of reasons which we won’t get into.  However, one of his reasons was that Clemson failed to beat a single team in 2007 that finished in the top 25.  So I decided to research this myself.  I only looked at the top 15 because Clemson is securely in that group.

2008 USA Today Preseason Poll

1. Georgia (22) 0-0 1,438 

2. USC (14) 0-0 1,430 

3. Ohio State (14) 0-0 1,392 

4. Oklahoma (3) 0-0 1,329 

5. Florida (5) 0-0 1,293 

6. LSU (3) 0-0 1,163 

7. Missouri 0-0 1,143 

8. West Virginia 0-0 1,008 

9. Clemson 0-0 999

10. Texas 0-0 979

11. Auburn 0-0 888

12. Wisconsin 0-0 747

13. Kansas 0-0 714

14. Texas Tech 0-0 644

15. Virginia Tech 0-0 568

Out of these 15, the Clemson Tigers are in fact the only pre-season top 15 team that failed to defeat a single team last season that finished in the final USA Today Top 25.  In fact, Clemson’s best win last year was against Wake Forrest, who finished the season 8-4.

Here’s a look at the pre-season top 15 and who they beat last season that ended the year in the top 25:

1. Georgia:  #16 Florida, #14 Auburn, #17 Hawaii

2. USC:  #24 Oregon, #13 Arizona St, #18 Illinois

3. Ohio State:  #25 Penn St, #19 Michigan

4. Oklahoma:  #10 Texas, #5 Missouri (2x)  

5. Florida:  #12 Tennessee,

6. LSU:  #9 VT, #16 Florida, #14 Auburn, #12 Tennessee, #4 Ohio St

7. Missouri:  #18 Illinois, #23 Texas Tech, #7 Kansas

8. West Virginia:  #20 Cincinnati, #8 Oklahoma

9. Clemson:

10. Texas:  #23 Texas Tech, #13 Arizona St

11. Auburn:  #16 Florida, #22 Clemson

12. Wisconsin:  #19 Michigan

13. Kansas:  #9 VT

14. Texas Tech:  #8 Oklahoma

15. Virginia Tech:  #22 Clemson, #11 Boston College

There’s no doubting Clemson has a superb offense led by quarterback Cullen Harper and backs James Davis and CJ Spiller.  Though, isn't this essentially the same team from last year, save the offensive line and the linebackers? 

So I ask, what makes the Clemson Tigers of 2008 so deserving of a pre-season top 10 ranking?  And I answer; I can’t seem to find one.