What if...

[thekob]

Originally Posted by PFW79

Eh, except Clemson has more ranked wins than any other team the last 5 years. Many of those OOC and bowl games. Top 10 SOS the last 3 years

I mean if you’d like to point out other programs other than OSU and Bama that are equal or better to Clemson in 2017 I’m all ears

Them goalposts getting heavy?

[Gamecocks0197]

Saban isn't going anywhere. And Dabo is treated like Jesus up there, and he pretty much controls his image, which is another story for another day. Oh, and there's no NewSpring Church in Alabama.

[Ace Dilcock]

Originally Posted by TAFC 5 1981

Well the immediate future looks good for both UGA and Clemson.

If you are talking about the 2018 season, not really.

Despite the high profile Offensive players, the reason for Clemson's recent success is improvement in the trenches. You will lose 3-4 starters on the O Line and 3 starters on the D Line. The O Line was good, not great, and it will be hard to even be good in 2018 with the new faces - interestingly, there is a lot of sentiment to go with a pro style attack in 2018, which requires a strong O Line. Good luck with that.

You will also be losing half of your starters in the secondary and an all-star LB, possibly another. On Offense, you could lose all three starting WRs.

You did a good job of absorbing the skill position losses last year because you remained strong in the trenches and on defense overall. That and some drop-off with the opposition made your team's record better than it should have been, but Bama and Syracuse exposed you. You ain't that good and will have to go with inexperienced starters in 2018.

UGA could lose all 11 D starters in 2018 (7 Seniors and 4 draft-eligible Juniors) plus Chubb and Michel. They have talent but will take a step back in 2018 - I think we will win at Willy B.

And yes, UGA recruited well this year - but the payoff for that is down the road when they get experience. Same with you guys.

[AndersonCock]

We were the #8 team heading into the 2014 season.... Anything can happen don't assume UGA and Moo U will waltz straight back to the playoff. On paper they look great but how many people said we would win the East in 2014.... Exactly nobody knows anything.

[Ace Dilcock]

Originally Posted by AndersonCock

We were the #8 team heading into the 2014 season.... Anything can happen don't assume UGA and Moo U will waltz straight back to the playoff. On paper they look great but how many people said we would win the East in 2014.... Exactly nobody knows anything.

True. People talked about our killer schedule heading into 2017...I pointed out that UF had some big losses and that UT was wiped out, so not so tough. That was based on looking at some of the key losses - Boom's defensive stars were finally gone at UF, and UT lost just about every star player on their team. What happened was predictable.

It is early as far as announcing for the draft, but we know that UGA is losing 7 defensive starters plus Chubb and Michel. And Clemson is getting hit hard on the O Line, plus they already have three early entries into the NFL - who are not even the higher rated guys that everyone assumes are leaving. If they lose everyone that is rumored (Wilkins, Bryant, Ferrell, Cain, Hyatt, maybe even Joseph and Renfrow), their strength in the trenches is gone and they have a lot of holes everywhere.