3 flaws that could keep Clemson from the National Championship

All signs point to Clemson’s title woes continuing in 2020.

Clemson has dominated the NCAA Football landscape for the latter part of the last decade, with five Playoff appearances and a pair of national titles. After numerous battles with Alabama, last season saw a trip to the National Championship end in defeat to LSU. Despite all the success and a perfect regular season, Clemson failed to lift the Playoff trophy.

Now, with Trevor Lawrence making a return for one more year and another top recruiting class, the hopes of a title persist for the Tigers but are certainly far from a guarantee. Here’s why.

3 flaws that could keep Clemson from the National Championship

3. Fatigue

It is not easy to deliver a perfect season. It is even harder to do it twice. Three times? Near impossible. Clemson finds themselves in exactly that position, a bad omen for 2020. Throughout history, only 11 teams have managed to win at least 30 games in a row, and while Clemson is no longer on a streak due to the Playoff loss, they have won 29 consecutively in the regular season. History tells us that Clemson is bound to lose a game in the regular season in 2020.

There were some scares in 2019, notably a thriller at the University of North Carolina, who may be a threat once again. Clemson has overcome some underwhelming performances, but it would not be surprising if a bad day boiled over into a loss. Considering the weakness of their schedule and the ACC, a single loss may boot them out of the Playoff picture entirely.