5 reasons for Clemson fans to be thankful

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Clemson fans have so much to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving Day.

The Tigers are ranked in the top 10 of the College Football Playoff poll, have a top 10 recruiting class on the way and the Palmetto Bowl is just a couple of days away.

Dabo Swinney summed it up well earlier this week.

“Got a lot to be thankful for. Really thankful for this team, the amount of work they’ve put in since last January. Same with our staff,” Swinney said. “This has been a good team to coach. They’ve been a lot of fun. … A group of just great young people that have battled their tails off all year.”

Here are our five reasons for Clemson fans to be thankful:

Tigers bounced back in 2022

There was a lot of talk this offseason about how Dabo Swinney’s program was on the decline and the Tigers were no longer elite after going 10-3 last year.

Clemson has put that talk to rest, going 10-1 so far this season. The Tigers will return to the ACC championship game next weekend after clinching the ACC Atlantic earlier this month.

Clemson will be favored to beat North Carolina in Charlotte and still has a chance to get back to the College Football Playoff for the seventh time in eight years.

Winning streak over Gamecocks

Clemson has won seven consecutive games over South Carolina and can move that number to eight with a win on Saturday.

When game day arrives, it will have been 1,092 days since South Carolina scored a point against Clemson, 1,463 days since the Gamecocks scored a touchdown against the Tigers and 3,283 days since South Carolina beat Clemson.

With a win Saturday, Clemson will become the first team in the history of the rivalry to win eight straight in the series.

Clemson has young talent

Not only are the Tigers having a great 2022 season, there are also plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future.

Freshmen and sophomores who are playing a key role for the Tigers this season include offensive lineman Blake Miller, tight end Jake Briningstool, quarterback Cade Klubnik, running backs Will Shipley and Phil Mafah, receivers Antonio Williams, Adam Randall and Beaux Collins, linebackers Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Barrett Carter and defensive backs Andrew Mukuba and Nate Wiggins.

It doesn’t appear as though Clemson will be having a big drop off any time soon.

Tigers recruiting class is stellar

Speaking of young talent, Clemson currently has a top 10 recruiting class loaded with blue chip prospects.

Of Clemson’s 23 commits, 17 are four-star prospects.

The group is headlined by quarterback Christopher Vizzina and defensive lineman Peter Woods, but there is a ton of talent up and down the commit list.

Dabo Swinney is the head coach

The final reason Clemson fans should be thankful is because Dabo Swinney is the head coach of the Tigers.

Swinney has built Clemson into a juggernaut, and the Tigers still have one of the best teams in the country, even after losing both coordinators this offseason.

As long as Swinney is at Clemson, the Tigers should remain the favorites to win the ACC and should remain in the College Football Playoff race.

Recent Tigers commit Tyler Brown put it well.

“Dabo, who wouldn’t want to run through a wall for that guy?” Brown said. “He’s just a great guy.”