The Biggest Disappointments for the Clemson Tigers in 2014

Wait, did you say disappointing? How can you find disappointments in a team that recently beat rival South Carolina en route to a nine-win regular season? For the Clemson Tigers, though, the disappointments can’t be forgotten, even during a solid 2014 campaign.

The Tigers will get a chance at their 10th victory of the season in the upcoming bowl game, but things could have been better. There were a couple of heartbreaking losses, but let’s take a look at the other disappointments.

5. Losing Chad Morris

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Morris was introduced as the head coach at SMU on Monday.

Rumors started before the South Carolina game, but it was confirmed Monday that Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris would become SMU’s next head coach. This is unfortunate for Clemson, as Morris has guided some of the best offenses in school history.

He was the offensive coordinator from 2011-2014, and he guided the best offense in school history in 2012, averaging 41.0 points per game. He helped former quarterback Tajh Boyd set numerous school records, and his offense helped former wide receiver Sammy Watkins become the No. 4 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft.

This is No. 5 on the list because Clemson can recover from Morris’ departure. Wide receivers coach Jeff Scott has been under Morris for the past few seasons, so it’s likely that he has become very familiar with the offense. There shouldn’t be a huge dropoff in production with Scott as offensive coordinator, mostly because of the talent that is returning in 2015.

4. Run Game

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Gallman emerged as the best running back, but the Tigers struggled to find consistency at the running back position early in the year.

Freshman running back Wayne Gallman has really emerged as a bright star recently, rushing for 100-plus yards in three of Clemson's last five games. However, the Tigers run game was inconsistent to start the season. The Tigers didn’t have a 100-yard rusher in a game until the Syracuse game in late October.

The rushing game should be a strength next season with plenty of young talent returning, but it was disappointing to watch this bunch at the beginning of the season.

3. Two Tough Losses in Georgia

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The Tigers completely fell apart in the second half of the Georgia game.

The Tigers had two tough losses in the state of Georgia this season. The season opener was very close for three quarters, but the Bulldogs ran away with things after halftime. Literally. The Bulldogs totaled 328 rushing yards on the day, and the Clemson offense was nonexistent in the second half.

The loss at Georgia Tech was tough because of quarterback Deshaun Watson’s injury. The feeling was that he ACL was torn, and Cole Stoudt didn’t provide any immediate reassurance at the position. He threw three interceptions in that game, with two of them being returned for touchdowns.

2. Cole Stoudt's Struggles

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Stoudt has struggled with interceptions this season.

Stoudt started the season pretty well against Georgia and South Carolina State, but things went downhill after he returned for an injured Watson. Stoudt started games against Boston College, Syracuse and Wake Forest after Watson's injury, throwing four touchdowns and three interceptions in those three games.

The Tigers had high hopes for Stoudt because of what he provided in the offseason. This was the guy that outperformed former Tiger Chad Kelly in the spring game and won the starting job outright.

The reason this isn’t the biggest disappointment is because the Tigers had an answer with Watson. The freshman performed well in 2014 and gave the Clemson faithful something to smile about offensively for a few games.

1. Losing at Florida State

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The loss at Florida State was among the toughest losses in Dabo Swinney's coaching career.

This is the one that still hurts to even write about. The Tigers experienced a roller coaster of emotions during this week, and in the end it was the most heartbreaking loss of the season.

Looking ahead to this game in the preseason, the Tigers had virtually no chance of winning. They were taking on the defending national champions who embarrassed them in front of their home crowd the previous year, so things didn’t look great.

Then, news broke that Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston would be suspended for the entire game against Clemson. Tigers fans now felt better about their chances, but it ended up being a 23-17 overtime loss that left them heartbroken.

This is the biggest disappointment because of what was at stake. The opportunity to win the division title was on the line, and it would have been a huge victory to take down the top-ranked Seminoles.