Dabo Swinney faces his former apprentice in a projected Gator Bowl showdown as the Tigers look to rebound from a disappointing season and silence the skeptics.
The Clemson Tigers entered last season believing they were a contender for the College Football Playoff.
The Tigers’ season crashed and burned after a Week 1 loss to LSU. Clemson finished 7-6, losing its bowl game to Penn State.
It wasn't for a lack of talent that Clemson underachieved. The Tigers had its best draft class in recent memory, with nine players taken in the first 175 picks, including first-round picks Blake Miller and Peter Woods.
Clemson is expected to be better than 7-6, and they'll face another tough test in Week 1 when they travel to play Lane Kiffin and LSU.
Brad Crawford of CBS Sports has another intriguing coaching matchup for Clemson's bowl game. He projects Clemson to play Oklahoma in the Gator Bowl, a matchup between Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney and Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables.
"Dabo Swinney vs. Brent Venables in Jacksonville?" Crawford wrote. "Organizers at the Gator Bowl would love to get the Sooners and Tigers on Dec. 27, pitting the two-time national champion against his former apprentice.”
"Both coaches have their eyes on a CFP appearance -- not here, however."
Oklahoma made the CFP last season before being beaten by Alabama at home. The Sooners’ offense was a problem last season, and it's unclear if they have enough juice this year to make the CFP.
During an appearance on "Always College Football" this week, Swinney told host Greg McElroy that the Tigers have a chip on their shoulder. While they struggled last year, he pointed to prior success against blue-blood teams.
"At Clemson, we always have to have a chip on our shoulder," Swinney said. "It just is what it is. We don't have the same alumni base that some places have. We don't have some of the things that some of the schools have that we've played over the years--that's just the way it is.
"We're 3-1 against Ohio State. We're 4-2 against Notre Dame. Notre Dame has their own TV station. They make their own rules. They print their own money. They got like their own money machine in the backyard or something."
Swinney has excuses, but he'll need to bring results soon.
Another disappointing season could have him packing. One thing Clemson has is money for a head coach, as Swinney is one of the top-paid coaches in the country, so the excluded should stop there.