Football powerhouses come and go.
It’s nearly impossible to stay on top forever.
And now one ESPN analyst just pronounced this football dynasty finished.
In the seven years of the college football playoff era, Clemson qualified for the playoff six times and won two national championships.
Under head coach Dabo Swinney, Clemson was clearly the second most dominant college football program in America behind Nick Saban’s juggernaut in Alabama.
But following Clemson’s 27 to 21 overtime loss to North Carolina State – which dropped the Tigers to 2-2 and eliminated them from playoff contention – ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum pronounced the Clemson dynasty finished for good.
Finebaum claimed the mounting losses would create a vicious cycle where recruiting would suffer, making it impossible for Clemson to regain their elite status.
“Dabo’s dynasty is done,” Finebaum declared. “I do not like anything I see there. I respect what Heather has just got through saying but strongly and vehemently disagree. They lost one coach a few years ago to USF (Jeff Scott) and I think that is a big loss. This is a staff that has always been together, but I think it’s getting stale. Yes, recruiting is still good, but will it be elite after we just got through watching Greeny. It just doesn’t look like Clemson is part of the cool kids anymore, and I think they are going to pay for it in recruiting, and they play in a terrible league and will hurt them even more.”
Clemson built the success of their dynasty on the back of elite quarterbacks that turned into first round NFL draft picks.
Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence provided the foundation for Clemson’s success.
Current quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei was a five-star recruit rated as the best quarterback in the class of 2020 when he committed to Clemson.
Swinney and everyone else expected he would continue the tradition of Lawrence and Watson by turning into another first round NFL draft pick.
But Uiagalelei and the offense struggled this year as Clemson has not scored more than 21 points in any game against a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent.
And according to Paul Finebaum, better days are not around the corner.
Sports with Balls will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
