The Clemson Tigers are being predicted to get diced up by California.
The Clemson Tigers have a pivotal matchup on tap with the California Golden Bears this Friday, one that could ultimately determine the direction of their season.
Clemson was blown out — historically, I might add — at LSU in Week 1. The Tigers then followed that up by basically laying an egg in a 22-7 win over Georgia Southern that almost hurt Clemson's standing more than it helped.
But this past Saturday, the Tigers rallied from a 17-3 deficit against a really tough North Carolina squad, emerging with a 28-20 victory in Tait Reynolds' first career start.
You could almost feel the energy shift during the victory, and suddenly, Clemson has a chance to get on a bit of a roll Friday night at California.
But will the Tigers be able to snatch their third straight win?
Manny Navarro of The Athletic doesn't think so.
While he thinks the game will be close, he feels it is the Golden Bears who will end up on top by a score of 32-31. Why? Because he thinks California quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele will dice up Clemson to the tune of 399 yards and four touchdowns.
Navarro points to the Tigers ranking 116th in total defense and 105th against the pass this year as reasons why he expects Sagapolutele — who was sensational with 413 yards and three touchdowns in Cal's win over Wagner last week — to dominate.
Navarro was sure to qualify his statement by saying that he feels Clemson will put up a bit more resistance than Wagner (hopefully), but that he simply thinks California's high-octane offense will ultimately be too much for the Tigers. Especially out west.
There is no doubt that Sagapolutele will be the toughest task the Tigers have faced since Sam Leavitt and LSU back in their season opener. It isn't particularly close, either.
The Golden Bears also have an impressive group of weapons at Sagapolutele's disposal, so Clemson will certainly have to play its A game defensively.
The good news is that the Tigers do have the potential to do just that.
Say what you want about Clemson, but it has several potential first-round picks on its defense, and the secondary — led by star cornerback Ashton Hampton — is probably quite a bit better than it has played the first three weeks.
It should also be noted that the Tigers' pass defense has looked considerably better over the last two games.
We'll see how Clemson fares here in Week 4.
