Clemson is just one coach away

By Marc Hudgens  |   Thursday, May 31, 2007  |  Comments( 32 )

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For some reason outside of common sense, there are some Clemson fans who believe the team is ''this close'' to winning an ACC championship.

Then again, they were ''close'' in both 2000 and 2003.

After the humiliating implosion that was the 2006 regular season and before heading into Nashville to lose to Kentucky in the Music City Bowl, Coach Tommy Bowden held a press conference and stated, "Two straight years we are just one point away. Now, on the other end, I do think that shows signs that we are close."

Right.

It's true that if Clemson had just one more conference win, the team would have represented the Atlantic Division and played in the ACC title game against Georgia Tech. But Bowden's "one point away" excuse is little more than, well, an excuse.

Fact is, Clemson perennially ends up around sixth in the conference when all is said and done, period. For the past bunch of years, the Tigers have always had a total collapse somewhere in the season that lasts between three and five games and ends up costing them their shot at the conference title. It has certainly been this way throughout most of Bowden's tenure.

Forget Bowden's "one point away" theory and consider Clemson's overall ACC standing since he took the reins. The following rankings have been re-weighted to take into consideration head-to-head wins and losses, which apparently wasn't done years ago:

2006 FINAL ACC STANDINGS
1. Wake Forest 6-2
2. Georgia Tech 7-1
3. Virginia Tech 6-2
4. Boston College 5-3
5. Maryland 5-3
6. Clemson 5-3
7. Virginia 4-4
8. Florida State 3-5
9. Miami (FL) 3-5
10. North Carolina 2-6
11. North Carolina State 2-6
12. Duke 0-8

2005 FINAL ACC STANDINGS
1. Florida State 5-3
2. Virginia Tech 7-1
3. Miami (FL) 6-2
4. Boston College 5-3
5. Georgia Tech 5-3
6. Clemson 4-4
7. North Carolina 4-4
8. North Carolina State 3-5
9. Maryland 3-5
10. Wake Forest 3-5
11. Virginia 3-5
12. Duke 0-8

2004 FINAL ACC STANDINGS
1. Virginia Tech 7-1
2. Florida State 6-2
3. Miami (FL) 5-3
4. Virginia 5-3
5. North Carolina 5-3
6. Georgia Tech 4-4
7. Clemson 4-4
8. North Carolina State 3-5
9. Maryland 3-5
10. Wake Forest 1-7
11. Duke 1-7

2003 FINAL ACC STANDINGS
1. Florida State 7-1
2. Maryland 6-2
3. Clemson 5-3
4. Virginia 4-4
5. North Carolina State 4-4
6. Georgia Tech 4-4
7. Wake Forest 3-5
8. Duke 2-6
9. North Carolina 1-7

2002 FINAL ACC STANDINGS
1. Florida State 7-1
2. Maryland 6-2
3. Virginia 6-2
4. North Carolina State 5-3
5. Georgia Tech 4-4
6. Clemson 4-4
7. Wake Forest 3-5
8. North Carolina 1-7
9. Duke 0-8

2001 FINAL ACC STANDINGS
1. Maryland 7-1
2. Florida State 5-2
3. North Carolina 5-3
4. Georgia Tech 4-3
5. North Carolina State 4-4
6. Clemson 3-4
7. Wake Forest 3-5
8. Virginia 3-5
9. Duke 0-7

2000 FINAL ACC STANDINGS
1. Florida State 8-0
2. Georgia Tech 6-2
3. Clemson 6-2
4. Virginia 5-3
5. North Carolina State 4-4
6. North Carolina 3-5
7. Maryland 3-5
8. Wake Forest 1-7
9. Duke 0-8

1999 FINAL ACC STANDINGS
1. Florida State 8-0
2. Georgia Tech 5-3
3. Clemson 5-3
4. Virginia 5-3
5. North Carolina State 3-5
6. Duke 3-5
7. Wake Forest 3-5
8. Maryland 2-6
9. North Carolina 2-6

As you can see, the absolute highest Clemson has risen in the ACC was No. 3, done on three separate occasions. But even in third place, to put it in baseball terms, in 1999 Clemson was four games out from being the champ, and three in both 2000, and 2003. That's not exactly one game away.

Bowden's teams have ranked sixth four times, third three times and seventh once. But the addition of three new teams since 2004 impact these numbers because -- although ACC teams still play eight conference opponents each year -- there are now more conference teams to outrank from an overall standpoint. So to mathematically adjust the earlier years to mimic a 12-team conference, Bowden's teams are looking at an adjusted ranking of:

'06: sixth
'05: sixth
'04: sixth
'03: fourth
'02: eighth
'01: eighth
'00: fourth
'99: fourth


Recalculated with these adjusted rankings, the team's average conference ranking throughout Bowden's Clemson career is 5.95 out of 12 (let's just say sixth). In terms of conference record, that's just under .500 and is clearly mediocre, below average, ho-hum, and so forth.

Far from being "close."

Bowden has proven that he is incapable of bringing an ACC crown to Clemson, and excuses make him look desperate.

From the looks of things, it appears that the number of fans who want Bowden out and an elite replacement hired are growing. They view him as the one constant in the Tigers' era of mediocrity, because for the past eight years there have been changes in players, assistant coaches and even athletic directors. Not coach, though.


Original Clemson Tigers insight, courtesy of RealFootball365.com.
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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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CommentsComments: 32  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Carl		11:02 AM
05/31/2007
He better get that one point he needs to win. Another 6th place finish and a lost to USC and Tommy boy will be toast.
No.2
rg		01:12 PM
05/31/2007
If they fire TB, who is going to come?...bowl eligible each of his years and has not had any serious NCAA problems. CU might...
No.3
chase		02:00 PM
05/31/2007
great article! Could not have agreed more. If south carolina, one of the worse football programs in history, can get a coach...
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