Well STS readers, I come to you this week recovering from an extremely sobering experience last Saturday night. I predicted a fight even in a loss, and if it even qualified as a fight, it resembled Drago vs. Apollo in Rocky IV. Probably an adequate ******* ogy because Apollo USED to be great, but he was no match for the modernized superweapon Drago. Did the Soviets cheat to develop him? Absolutely, but at that point they were doing whatever it took to be superior no matter the morality of it. Clemson fans like me could be heard yelling "throw in the ******* towel!" by maybe the fourth possession of the game. It was that obvious that Clemson was completely and totally outmatched at the lines of scrimmage and the surrounding skill had zero chance because of it on either side of the ball.
How did it come to this? I posted this in a comment on the game review thread and will paste it here as it summarizes what I have painfully allowed myself to realize: "I hate it for Dabo and others who really want to do this the way it is supposed to be done, which is to develop men and grow boys to men and that takes time more often than not. That is what the transfer portal and NIL and lack of tampering control has created and as much as Dabo has tried to evolve I just don't see how he could ever get to what actually has to be done now if you want to be elite. I bet if you begin to track LSU, Ohio State, Texas, etc, going forward, you will see that maybe 50% of their rosters will start and finish with them and the other half will be brought in from elsewhere at some stage of their five-year playing window. Dabo swallows hard just to have the maybe 15% we are up to now that would check that box. I totally understand why, but either Dabo has to let go of that OR Clemson needs a huge break and actual sane rules return to CFB. Otherwise, we are back to 1995 where we might be able to beat ok teams and bad teams but are done beating anyone that is legit top 15 in stature."
I am a Clemson Tiger for life and lived through the lean years between Ford and Dabo. I'll still tune in and attend games when I can, but I know now that something has to give if Clemson is ever going to hope to compete at the highest level and it may get worse before it can get better. I'm still looking for pathways to wins, as many wins as this team can find a way to manage. I agree they are likely better than that product we saw in Baton Rouge, but that is not saying a lot either considering how FCS level the Tigers looked in that game.
I also want to add that I highly recommend gear from our sponsor Section 103. Their polos in particular have already become some of my favorites in the closet.
Do you want to support STS writers? You can do so by supporting our sponsor, Section 103. They deep dive school traditions to create thoughtful designs artfully applied to insanely comfortable tees, polos, hats, and more.Click here to explore.
#apollo
How did it come to this? I posted this in a comment on the game review thread and will paste it here as it summarizes what I have painfully allowed myself to realize: "I hate it for Dabo and others who really want to do this the way it is supposed to be done, which is to develop men and grow boys to men and that takes time more often than not. That is what the transfer portal and NIL and lack of tampering control has created and as much as Dabo has tried to evolve I just don't see how he could ever get to what actually has to be done now if you want to be elite. I bet if you begin to track LSU, Ohio State, Texas, etc, going forward, you will see that maybe 50% of their rosters will start and finish with them and the other half will be brought in from elsewhere at some stage of their five-year playing window. Dabo swallows hard just to have the maybe 15% we are up to now that would check that box. I totally understand why, but either Dabo has to let go of that OR Clemson needs a huge break and actual sane rules return to CFB. Otherwise, we are back to 1995 where we might be able to beat ok teams and bad teams but are done beating anyone that is legit top 15 in stature."
I am a Clemson Tiger for life and lived through the lean years between Ford and Dabo. I'll still tune in and attend games when I can, but I know now that something has to give if Clemson is ever going to hope to compete at the highest level and it may get worse before it can get better. I'm still looking for pathways to wins, as many wins as this team can find a way to manage. I agree they are likely better than that product we saw in Baton Rouge, but that is not saying a lot either considering how FCS level the Tigers looked in that game.
I also want to add that I highly recommend gear from our sponsor Section 103. Their polos in particular have already become some of my favorites in the closet.
Do you want to support STS writers? You can do so by supporting our sponsor, Section 103. They deep dive school traditions to create thoughtful designs artfully applied to insanely comfortable tees, polos, hats, and more.Click here to explore.
#apollo
2 months ago
