Eight is enough for Clemson’s Bowden

By Bob Wilson  |   Monday, November 06, 2006  |  Comments( 18 )

Clemson Tigers
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After nearly eight seasons with Tommy Bowden as its head coach, Clemson University knows exactly what it has. Bowden has gone 6-6, 9-3, 7-5, 7-6, 9-4, 6-5, 8-4 and is currently 7-3 with two games and a bowl game to go this year. He is 3-3 in bowl games and 6-1 versus in-state rival South Carolina.

Bowden's players graduate and stay out of trouble, for the most part. He runs a clean program and seems to care about his players. Although he was initially characterized by the media as arrogant, he appears to be a good man and a devout Christian. It's hard to imagine Bowden doing anything that would embarrass his university.

The question that Clemson and AD Terry Don Phillips must answer is, is that enough? Bowden has shown that he can win between six and nine games a year. He has beaten FSU (three times), Tennessee and Miami, but he has also lost to Duke and Wake Forest (twice). The Clemson Tigers, under the current regime, are one of the most unpredictable teams in the country. They can seemingly beat anyone, yet every year, as diehard Clemson fans know too well, Bowden's teams manage to lose at least one game they have no business losing.

When Bowden arrived, Clemson's facilities had fallen behind most of the ACC. His promised improvements are finally underway. Some Tiger fans believe their coach used the lack of facilities excuse as a crutch for mediocre seasons. However, the recruiting has picked up the last few years with the addition of the West End Zone Project that includes new locker rooms and workout facilities.

Still, with the addition of top recruits such as last year's ACC Rookie of the Year, James Davis, and C.J. Spiller, a contender for this year's award, some feel that the on-field results have not improved. This season has been a particular hard pill for Tiger Nation to swallow. After roaring to a 7-1 start and a top-10 ranking, the Tigers have lost two straight and are one conference defeat away from another 4-4 ACC record.

This year was set up for a Tiger revival. It is the 25th anniversary of Clemson's national championship team and the league hasn't been this wide open in some time. Bowden's eighth team overcame an unusual number of injuries to key players and a devastating loss to Boston College on the way to a 7-1 start. However, these Tigers were not able to sustain their momentum and appear headed toward another mediocre season.

One of the marks of Tommy Bowden's teams is that they have not yet been able to put a complete season together. The last few years Clemson has started slow and finished with a flourish. This season seems eerily similar to 2000, when an 8-0 start was marred by a 1-3 finish.

If being slightly above average is good enough for Terry Don Phillips, then Tommy Bowden is his man. If Clemson believes it needs to compete for BCS bowls and national championships, then perhaps the school doesn't have the right coach.
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