As he stood in the locker room following perhaps the best performance a quarterback has ever had in a national championship game, Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson answered question after question on why the Tigers were not able to finish the job.
It was the reality of the situation. Despite throwing for a record 405 yards and four touchdowns and despite totaling a record 478 yards overall against one of the best defenses in college football history, Watson knew he and the Tigers let a golden opportunity slip by.
“It is in our mind and will be a chip that we will have on our shoulders, but at the same time we have to move forward. We can’t live in the past,” Watson said. “When you live in the past, you are only holding yourself back.
“You live and learn from the mistakes that you made in that experience, but we know how to get there and we have experienced it and now we have to start over this year and try to get back there.”
The journey to get back begins in seven days when No. 2 Clemson travels to Auburn to kick off the 2016 football season. It’s been a long eight months for the Tigers since that night of “what could have been” in Arizona.
“For the past several years I think we have been good enough, and we are good enough this year, but every year is a grind to get there. There are no free passes. You can’t skip here to end up over there. You have to go through the steps. Every year is different,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said.
If the Tigers can clear the hurdle in Auburn, then more than likely, the quest to get back to the College Football Playoff and have a chance to play for the national championship will run through Tallahassee, Florida on Oct. 29.
Florida State, the preseason No. 4 team in the country by the Associated Press, returns 17 starters from last year’s 10-3 team. With running back Dalvin Cook leading the way, the Seminoles are perhaps the only team standing in Clemson’s way from a return trip to the College Football Playoff.
But Clemson isn’t going to see it that way. It will take “the one game at a time” approach and is focusing on Auburn, and then after that it will worry about Troy and so on and so on.
“That’s what I want to see from this team … to be consistent performers, to be about the right things. To prepare the right way and to be committed each and every week,” Swinney said. “I want them to put everything they have into that one game.
“The one-game season mentality – that is what we talk about all the time. If we can continue to do that, then I think we can be in the hunt. There are a lot of things that can ultimately determine if you are in the national championship.”
The Tigers will try to determine that with what could be one of the best offenses in the history of college football. Besides Heisman Trophy Finalist Deshaun Watson being back, they also return seven other starters, including running back Wayne Gallman, wide receiver Artavis Scott and tight end Jordan Leggett. Then there is the return of Mike Williams, who had more than 1,000 yards in 2014, but missed all of last season due to a neck injury.
Clemson also returns other weapons such as Hunter Renfrow, Deon Cain and Ray Ray McCloud.
On defense, there are a few more questions, but Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables feels good about his unit. All during preseason camp he has been high on his defense. The Tigers are strong and deep up the middle and are as deep at linebacker as they have been. There are questions in the secondary, but there is talent there as well.
Defensive end is a concern, but again the Tigers have blue chip players that are ready to step up and take their turn.
“We are going to have a good defense. We lack in some experience but we have good talented guys,” Venables said. “They are intelligent. They are hard working. They don’t want to let anybody down. I think we are developing a good chemistry and good leadership.”
It’s been a long time since Clemson walked into a season as one of the favorites to win the national championship. The Clemson football program has not started a season in the Top 5 since 1988 when it was ranked No. 4 in the preseason AP and Coaches polls.
So eight months later, Watson again stands in front of the media answering questions, but this time it is not about what could have been, but instead it’s about what can be.
“There is no big difference. There are a lot more guys that are more confident and they feel like we are one of the tops teams that can compete for the national championship,” the Clemson quarterback said. “We understand we have to work for it and we have to go get it. There is no one that is going to basically hand (the national championship) to us because we played in it last year and we have all the media hype in the preseason.
“You have to go earn it and put in the work.”