Clemson Must Get Over 1 Hurdle That Makes the Tigers Perpetual Underdogs

For some reason, athletes are obsessed with proving doubters wrong. Adversity (real or manufactured) sometimes seems as endemic to athletic success as winning. So, it was no surprise that the first thing Clemson tight end Jordan Leggett said about his team's path to the College Football Playoff was this:

"People were saying we'd never win at Louisville, and we couldn't beat Notre Dame in hurricane weather when all we do is pass the ball."

This is status quo great-team genesis story stuff. What followed was strikingly honest and showcases the genuine nature of Dabo Swinney's team.

"I really didn't buy into us being where we are until the Notre Dame game, either."

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

Outsiders always doubt the champion, but the champion never doubts itself—or at least never admits to it. That sort of thing is reserved for the challengers and the underdogs.

With a playoff field of Alabama, Michigan State, Oklahoma and Clemson, you have three programs with consistent national tradition and trophy cases full of national titles and conference championships...and then you have No. 1 undefeated Clemson, which is somehow the underdog of the group.

Everyone loves the underdog; it just usually isn't the undefeated No. 1 team in the country.

The term means more than just betting odds and point spreads. It's about a psyche and a personality and a belief system. And the truth is, until Clemson actually pulls off "the big win," it is going to have some doubts deep down.

This No. 1 stuff is new for Swinney's squad, so we need a new term for the Tigers. Maybe UnderFavorites? OverDogs?

It always seemed a little strange seeing Coach Swinney getting so worked up over the dreaded term "Clemsoning." Sure, it's an insult, but it's an insult from the past.

I asked Swinney about it two years ago, and he talked about just needing to win a few big games to put the choking stereotype to rest and build belief that one could end well. He pointed to the Tigers' comeback win in the 2012 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl over LSU. He said it was a learning curve, and he felt Clemson had learned.

Next season, Clemson went out to its big game against Jameis Winston and Florida State and got absolutely pounded 51-14 on its home field, and "Clemsoning" made its way back into the national conversation.

This year, Swinney took an angered approach, yelling at reporters for having the nerve to bring it up, going as close as anyone has heard him come to cursing, referring several times in one rant to "bullcrap."

"I don't even know why we bring up the dadgum word."

Bullcrap and dadgum! Usually, Swinney is about the most positive guy you'd ever meet. When things don't work, though, you try something new.

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

Clemson's underdog label isn't about talent or skill. It is about history and a mental hurdle all champions must clear.

Perhaps Clemson is the playoff underdog because Swinney has been one ever since he took over as interim head coach during the 2008 season when Tommy Bowden was fired.

"When he took over, Coach Swinney said, 'All right, you're going to go from graduate assistant to interim wideout coach, and if I get this thing full time, then you're going to have a chance to be the full-time wideout coach,'" Jeff Scott, Clemson's co-offensive coordinator, said. "I went home and I was all excited. Then across ESPN on the ticker—and I'll never forget it—it was talking about Coach Swinney being named interim coach and said 'Zero of the last 29 interim head coaches went on to be the full-time head coach.'"

Scott said he figured Clemson would need to win four of its final six games for Swinney to have a chance. The big moment turned out to be the Week 9 game against Boston College.

Michael Dwyer/Associated Press

"It wasn't going to win the job, but it probably would cost you the job [if Clemson lost]," Scott said. "I was up in the box, and there was a timeout late in the fourth quarter. There were about four minutes left on the clock, and I thought, 'These next four minutes are probably going to dictate the next 10 years of my career.' It's the only time in my career I've ever thought about that."

Clemson went on to win that game and four of its last five in the regular season.

The point I'm making here is that Nick Saban probably can't remember thinking that way. Bob Stoops, either. And while Swinney and Clemson aren't playing for their jobs anymore, they certainly remember that feeling.

Saban and Stoops have national championships with their names on them; Clemson is still trying to climb that mountain. The Tigers may not have the pedigree, but they definitely have the hunger.