The Clemson Tigers suffered a season-opening upset as they lost to the Duke Blue Devils by a score of 28-7. The Tigers struggled tremendously on the offensive side of the ball, leaving their hopes of returning to the College Football Playoff in question.
College football analyst Aaron Murray ripped Clemson, claiming that the team lacks explosiveness. Speaking on The Volume, Murray stated:
"The instant reaction: Clemson just gets spanked by Duke, the Blue Devils, a traditional basketball school. You get rid of D.J. U[iagalelei], thought that was the issue, just threw five touchdowns this week, as the starting quarterback for Oregon State. Get rid of your offensive coordinator, thought that was the issue as well."
Murray added:
"I do applaud Dabo for making some changes; some things had to be made, but there's issues at two major spots that I've been trying to harp on for Clemson fans all offseason. You don't have an extremely talented quarterback; still very green. And you don’t have playmakers on the outside right now; two things that we're just not accustomed to seeing at Clemson.
"The lack of explosive plays down the field in the passing game. You're hoping Gary Riley would solve that. They're a long way from that right now. Florida State, by far, the premier team in the ACC. Clemson, you're going to be fighting to get double-digit wins this year."
Check out Aaron Murray's comments on the Clemson Tigers here.
The Tigers' early season loss puts them in a tough position in the final season of four teams reaching the postseason. While former quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei shined with five overall touchdowns and no turnovers in his Oregon State Beavers debut, his replacement did not play well.
Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik threw for just 209 yards, one touchdown and one interception while completing 62.8% of his passes.
Can the Clemson Tigers compete for the College Football Playoff?
The Clemson Tigers entered the season as the No.9-ranked team in the nation. Following their loss to the Duke Blue Devils, the Tigers fell to No.25 in the nation. While Clemson could bounce back and reach the College Football Playoff, they will likely need to run the table to do so.
In the nine years of the postseason, there has never been a two-loss team to reach the College Football Playoff. The Tigers still have meetings with the No.4-ranked Florida State Seminoles, No.10-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish and No.18-North Carolina Tar Heels. While running the table will be a challenge, if they are able to do so, Clemson could reach the postseason for the seventh time in 10 years.
