When one thinks about Clemson football, they think about several things.

“The Catch” – Jerry Butler’s leaping, twisting catch to beat archrival South Carolina in the 1977 game.

The iconic photo of Frank Howard blowing a kiss goodbye to “Big Thursday” following Clemson’s 27-0 win over the Gamecocks in 1959.

Perry Tuttle’s Sports Illustrated cover, which showed the All-American receiver celebrating his touchdown in the 1982 Orange Bowl that clinched the program’s first national championship.

There is “Orange Crush” the play former offensive coordinator Jeff Scott called in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game – a two-yard touchdown pass from Deshaun Watson to Hunter Renfrow with one second left to beat Alabama.

15-0 – The record of the 2018 team, the first major college football team in the modern era to go 15-0.

Finally, defense.

Playing defense at a high level has been a calling card for the Clemson Tigers, going all the way back to the Frank Howard days. His Clemson teams were always known for being tough, physical football teams that were not afraid to hit someone.

In the 1980s, Danny Ford’s teams carried that same reputation, as they physically beat up and wore down their opponents. It was not uncommon to see opposing teams wilt under constant pressure. Just ask former West Virginia quarterback Major Harris.

Way before Watson found Renfrow to win the 2017 CFP title game, Dabo Swinney said Clemson would not win a national championship until they had a national championship caliber defense. For most of the last 11-plus seasons, Clemson has had just that – an elite defense that can compete with anyone in college football.

Swinney brought in Brent Venables back in 2012 to turn things around and before Venables left to take over the Oklahoma program in 2022, Clemson had and continues to have one of the best defenses in all of college football.

Though Wes Goodwin is calling the plays instead of Venables these days, the Clemson defense seems to be hitting on all cylinders. Six games into the 2023 season, the Tigers lead the ACC in three defensive categories, including total defense (261.8 yds/game) and yards allowed per play (4.16).

Clemson also ranks second in rushing defense (86.3/game), rushing yards allowed per play (2.74). They also are second in the conference in completion percentage defense (54.8), yards allowed per pass attempt (5.6), defensive pass rating (104.2), tackles for loss (44) and TFL’s per game (7.3).

In other words, the Tigers are playing defense at a championship level. Unfortunately for Clemson, it appears it wasted a championship caliber defense this season.

Because of Clemson’s self-inflicted wounds on offense, the Tigers are not going to win a national championship this year, and they likely cost themselves a shot at defending its ACC Championship in December.

Though Tyler Davis, Ruke Orhorhoro, Xavier Thomas, Justin Mascoll and Jalyn Phillips decided to return for one more season and team up with All-American caliber linebackers in Jeremiah Trotter and Barrett Carter, it might be all for not when it comes to any kind of championship.

Yes, the Tigers still have a lot to play for. They are not officially out of the ACC Championship race, though the situation is bleak at the moment.

Granted, they can still win out and position themselves for a possible New Year’s Six Bowl Game.

However, when people think about this Clemson defense, and how it stacks up with some others before it, a lot of people will think about how its services went wasted.

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