The TCI staff of Ed McGranahan, Hale McGranahan, Will Vandervort, William Qualkinbush and Robert MacRae go Around the Horn to answer some of the questions surrounding Clemson athletics and college football.
Where does this week’s game rank among the biggest in Clemson history?
Robert MacRae – Well the truth is it depends on the outcome. If the Tigers win it will be one of the biggest ever as the Tigers will have a great opportunity to run the table and make the College Football Playoff. A loss and it will be just another missed opportunity.
This game is one of the biggest because of the opportunity it provides. A teams that Clemson doesn’t play every year visits Death Valley against a team that Clemson believes is a legitimate championship contender. There are some doubters around the nation. Defeating Notre Dame is critical if the Tigers want to make a championship run. The winner of this game will have a great chance to make the College Football Playoff.
William Qualkinbush – It depends on how you define “biggest”. I’d rank any game with tangible stakes ahead of this one in terms of importance. That would include any division or conference title-clinching game. Basically any important Florida State game would be ahead, especially in this era where those teams lord over the Atlantic Division. Also, any South Carolina game has to be put in its own category.
Is it the most important non-conference game ever at Clemson? Now, I’d be tempted to say yes to that. With College Gameday and Sportscaster on campus, a national television audience on ABC in primetime, and a pair of teams ranked in the top 12, the game has every element of an all-time great. Add in that the opponent is Notre Dame—arguably the biggest collegiate brand in the nation—and it becomes even greater. In this era of a four-team playoff, the game takes on greater magnitude because both teams are considered contenders for one of those spots after a month’s worth of games. On the national scene, I’d call this the biggest non-conference game ever at Clemson.
Hale McGranahan – My depth of knowledge on Clemson football history is pretty shallow. Really shallow actually. Since I didn’t grow up rooting for the team, I was only a casual viewer of Clemson games for most of my life. I can’t really speak to a whole lot before 2009, when I started covering the team, though I was/am pretty familiar with how things were during the late 90’s and early part of this century.
All that being said, my answer is no. To me, the 2013 Florida State game is the biggest. I guess hindsight plays somewhat of a factor, since Jameis Winston went on to win the Heisman, but the two teams were ranked higher for that game (third and fifth) than they are for this one (11th and seventh).
This game isn’t even second. To me, that’s the 2013 opener against Georgia, when both teams were inside the Top 10.
Will Vandervort: Absolutely it is. Notre Dame comes into this game ranked sixth in one poll and seventh in another. The Tigers are ranked 11th and 12th in the polls. A win this Saturday will put the Tigers right in the conversation of the College Football Playoffs. Yes, the Florida State game could be bigger on Nov. 7, but that will only hold true if Clemson first beats the Irish and the Seminoles stay undefeated. So as of right now, and what it means to the overall picture, this game is the biggest in Clemson history.
Ed McGranahan – Biggest?