Orange Bowl within reach for Clemson?

By Marc Hudgens  |   Monday, July 14, 2008  |  Comments( 2 )

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ESPN’s Heather Dinich, the beat writer for the ACC, contemplated something interesting in last week’s "Top 5 questions for the Atlantic Division" blog.

“Will Clemson be good enough to win a BCS game? Forget about the ACC title. The Tigers are talented enough to win that. The real question is how well they can represent the ACC on the national stage, where the league is just 1-9 in its BCS games," Dinich said.

Maybe we’re all jumping the shark a bit; after all, it's still July, so nobody will be winning any titles in the near future. For discussion's sake, though, let’s assume that Clemson gets to Miami, site of the Orange Bowl, in January.

That means the Tigers will likely face either the Big East champion or runner-up, or the Big XII's second-place finisher (that conference’s champion goes to the Fiesta Bowl). Not exactly slouch opponents, eh? If Clemson wins the ACC title for the first time since 1991, coach Tommy Bowden’s Tigers will enjoy reams of positive press and hype and will likely be predicted to win the Orange Bowl. The pressure will be on at that point.

However, Clemson has had trouble beating good opponents in recent years. Given that their upcoming conference schedule is the weakest it’s been in a while (Virginia Tech was replaced by Virginia), it appears to be a slam dunk on winning the division for the Tigers, who might even go undefeated. But after that, the Tigers must face the Coastal champion, probably Virginia Tech, before marching into South Florida. And the Hokies have owned Clemson since Day 1, it seems.

Should they beat Frank Beamer’s boys, it will be a major coup for Clemson, which would finally get the so-called monkey off its back. With the pressure of beating the Hokies gone, the likelihood would be that the Tigers would beat their Orange Bowl opponent, whomever it may be.

It's a down period for most ACC teams, so the idea of Clemson winning the conference title is certainly realistic. That's why there should be no excuses for Bowden & Co. this year; what's more, if they do end up taking the ACC, odds are they'd cap off the season with an Orange Bowl victory.
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About Marc Hudgens

Marc Hudgens has been with RealFootball365 since 2007, covering college football, specifically Clemson and Oregon. He also writes for SouthernPigskin.com covering the ACC. He enjoys the acidic wit of Hunter S. Thompson, is a freelance graphic designer and has written several screenplays. He...
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