If you think back a few years ago, Clemson and Florida State were looking to bolt the ACC for greener pastures. Both fan bases were on board with that idea. Both schools challenged the conference's grant of rights and exit penalties to head to another Power 4 Conference.
The two schools made waves and national news with their decisions, but after both schools dropped their lawsuits and agreed to stay in the league for now while securing a new revenue-sharing model based on viewership, well, things haven't gone as both had hoped. In fact, you could say both schools embarrassingly hit rock-bottom in Week 1.
Clemson and Florida State hit rock bottom of embarrassment in Week 1
Since both schools challenged the conference, well, it's safe to say things haven't gone well for either. Both programs are not your father's Clemson or Florida State back in their heyday. If this weekend doesn't prove that they are not bigger and better than the rest of the ACC, then I don't know what to tell you.
Let's start with Clemson. The Tigers opened the season under Dabo Swinney with a lot of eyes on them. They traveled to Louisiana to play Lane Kiffin and LSU in his first game as head coach. To put it bluntly, Clemson was embarrassed on national TV. After grabbing a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, Clemson allowed 51 straigth points en route toa 51-01 beatdown of their fellow Tigers.
To add insult to injury for Swinney, Kiffin trolled Clemson during and after the game, taking subtle shots about the Tigers' offense, among other things. Swinney didn't help himself in his postgame press conference with some of his quotes. The heat on him is real.
Then there is Florida State. Since they were left out of the College Football Playoff in 2023, things have quickly headed in the wrong direction under Mike Norvell. In fact, he's back for another year because of a massive buyout that the school doesn't want to pay yet. He may leave them no choice very shortly.
Hosting SMU in a standalone game on Monday night on ESPN. A perfect time to show the country that things are going to be different in Northern Florida this season. Yeah, not so much.
They were delayed nearly two hours because of a power outage. This comes on the heels of some major stadium renovations. You can't make this stuff up. Then, once the game started, there was no scoreboard, no coach/quarterback communication, and no tablets on the sideline. Did we mention no power in the pressbox? What a clown show.
SMU added insult to injury by booting a game-winning field goal with 21 seconds left for a 27-24 victory. Norvell is being booed, and the program that Bobby Bowden built is nowhere near what it used to be. In fact, are teams even going to be scared going into Doak Campbell Stadium?
A few years ago, Clemson and Florida State were too good for the ACC and wanted out. Now, they are a laughingstock, and nobody wants them. Their coaches are on the hot seat, and both programs are heading in the wrong direction. If Week 1 wasn't an embarrassment for both schools, I don't know what would be.
They were too good for the conference a few years ago; now they're not even good enough to compete in the ACC. There is a lot of crow being served on both campuses this week.
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