3 reasons Clemson won’t win the national championship this year

The tough competition

Even great teams don’t win national titles. That’s because there are other great teams also vying for that achievement. Clemson’s biggest challenge in 2021 will be keeping pace with a whole bunch of teams who also have their eye on that trophy.

It’ll start in September as they face Georgia in a matchup that will definitely impact the CFP selection process. Realistically, Clemson can afford that early loss, but falling flat in the opener would give them no room for error for the rest of the regular season.

Fortunately, their regular-season slate isn’t exactly loaded. They miss out on Miami and North Carolina. They’ll have to fall asleep and get upset by a major underdog to suffer another loss.

Still, the Hurricanes or the Tar Heels will likely be waiting in the ACC Championship Game. Miami returns just about everyone from the 2020 squad, while UNC has one of the nation’s top quarterbacks in Sam Howell. Neither would be a cakewalk.

Then there’s the matter of making it through the CFP, assuming they get there in the first place. Nick Saban takes no prisoners and Ryan Day proved he could outmaneuver Dabo Swinney in their last matchup.

Make no mistake, Clemson can absolutely answer every question and come through with an impressive title run. It’ll take finding the optimal way to support D.J Uiagalelei, plugging all those personnel holes without any major hiccups and digging deep to overcome some really stiff competition in the postseason.

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