Clemson finally getting respect it deserves
By: will-vandervort January 14, 2016

Though Clemson did not win the National Championship on Monday night, it did win some respect.

All season long the Tigers carried a chip on their shoulder. There mantra was no one respected them. No one gave them a chance to win the National Championship or even play for it. And there was some truth behind all of that.

Just before the start of the national championship game, one national writer tweeted that he did not know how Clemson was going to be able to block Alabama’s ferocious defensive line. Well, the Tigers handled themselves okay.

“Obviously we wanted to win the game and we came up a little short, but I think that at least the nation saw tonight why we’ve been so successful. They saw the heart of our team,” Swinney said.

The nation saw how good Clemson is, too. They saw how the Tigers were not intimidated by Alabama. They saw that Clemson was on even par with who many felt was one of the best teams of all-time.

The Tigers outgained Alabama 550-473. They out-rushed Bama 145-138. They had three more sacks (5-2) and more tackles for loss (9-7). For the most part, Clemson outplayed and outhustled the Crimson Tide all night.

“A lot of people thought they were going to pound us, but they didn’t,” Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson said. “We stood toe-to-toe and it was a four-quarter fist fight. It came down to the last play so we will be motivated. We will learn from this feeling and get ready for next year.”

For all that was said about how Clemson would not be able to run on or contain Bama’s defensive line, the Tigers averaged 3.8 yards per carry. Though that isn’t great, it was better than Alabama’s 3.0.

“There is a lot of pride in what we accomplished and what we have been through,” Watson said. “A lot of people didn’t think we were going to get here. A lot of people thought Alabama was just going to roll over us, but we competed to the very end, to the last play.

“We had a chance, and at the end of the day, this program is at another level. We are going to work hard this offseason, and next year we are going to get back to the national championship.”

After the Tigers’ performance on Monday night, a lot of people are already predicting the Tigers will do just that, and Watson is the reason why.

It’s almost like a lot of the national media just realized how good this guy really is. Maybe that’s because he put up a National Championship Game record 478 yards against Alabama’s vaunted defense. The same defense no one or no quarterback has been able to move an inch on, much less 500-plus yards.

Every time you saw Watson make a play, Alabama head coach Nick Saban could be seen on the sideline cussing and slamming his headset to the ground. The Crimson Tide had no answer for Watson as he picked them apart for 405 yards and four touchdowns through the air, while running for another 73 yards.

“There are probably still a lot of people that will not respect us, but at the end of the day we respect ourselves and we respect others around us,” Watson said. “We don’t really care about what all those people think. The thing about this program is we know what we have and we do it the right way and we have been very successful with it.”

But the rest of the nation has taken notice, and when the new football season begins in eight months it, will be little ol’ Clemson getting all the attention. The Tigers have finally earned the respect they deserve, and ironically, despite 17 straight wins, it took a loss for the rest of the nation to finally wake up and give it to them.

 

If you haven’t already order your copy today of Guts & Glory – Tales of Clemson’s Historic 2015 Football Season to help you celebrate and remember this special season.