No reason we can't be Clemson

[Leeshouldveflanked]

In a lot of ways we are very similar....Agriculture Based....Conference(like it or not ACC is just as good, or maybe better than SEC)...Rural Location...Similar Athletic Budgets (Clemson has a few more sports than us)..

From Scout.... here are Clemson's last 4 recruiting classes....
2016 16th
2015 15th
2014 28th
2013 12th..

It shows you don't have to have Top Ten Classes, but you have to have top 20..... One thing is that Dabo locks up the in state Talent and gets a lot of good players from Georgia....
I'm not a Jake Wimberly fan, but he did make a very good point the other day comparing MSU and Clemson going back to the 1999 Peach Bowl...however, I think Dan Mullen is more Tommy Bowden than he is Dabo Swinney....

 

[engie]

Or Scout is just proving how bad they are at recruiting rankings... Clemson is absolutely loaded with talent -- and they sustained early defections to the NFL last year.

Clemson was a 17 year build with 16 bowls(self-imposed bowl ban the year they had the fight with South Carolina).

Also, Dabo lost to his rival -- was it 4 in a row or 5 in a row -- before ever winning his first against them? State fan base would have run him out of town for all that.

 

[RocketDawg]

The ACC was better this year than the SEC was, but that's not the norm.

 

[FQDawg]

Do you know the budget numbers for football?

not that I don't believe you but I find it surprising that we'd be anywhere close to them in terms of football budgets.

 

[HD6]

Do we get to play the ACC schedule?

 

[coach66]

Clemson campus is actually modeled to MSU campus, very similar. Land grants.

nm

 

[shotgunDawg]

Clemson's recruiting ranking is irrelevant because they are the #2 recruiter in their conference behind FSU and rarely play a better recruiter out of conference.

Then once you get in the playoff in one game scenarios with the better QB, you've got a chance.

Recruiting ranking only matter when compared to the other teams on your schedule. In that context, Clemson is the LSU of the ACC. We can't be that.

If we were in the ACC in 2014, we would've been in the playoff and everyone would be asking how they could become MSU.

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

According to USA Today.... Clemson Athletic Budget ranks 39th at $83 Mil, MSU ranks 45th at $75 Mil....

 

[Hoover Dawg]

State of SC has 5 million people, state of MS has 3 million. That's your biggest difference. We have similar demographics, but they have more resources. I know some people will point to states with 30 million or whatever, but it's not really comparable as the demographics change. We have more talent in the south. Clemson is very comparable to Auburn.

Clemson is also located 30 minutes from Greenville, and down the interstate from Atlanta. Starkville and the GT is very isolated.

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

Do we get to play the ACC schedule?

Miami, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Florida State, Louisville aren't slouches.....North Carolina and Va. Tech usually aren't bad programs either...

 

[LawDawg97]

Clemson being only 2 hours from Atlanta is a huge advantage

In a lot of ways we are very similar....Agriculture Based....Conference(like it or not ACC is just as good, or maybe better than SEC)...Rural Location...Similar Athletic Budgets (Clemson has a few more sports than us).

In addition to that large recruiting base in Georgia, they recruit their own state (with a higher population than ours) and North Carolina and Florida extremely well.

And as much as I love our campus, Clemson has a beautiful campus. When you are recruiting an out of state student it is easy to see why Clemson is an easier sell.

They also don't have Alabama in their backyard.

 

[shotgunDawg]

Miami, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Florida State, Louisville aren't slouches.....North Carolina and Va. Tech usually aren't bad programs either...

Miami - Arkansas

Georgia Tech - Ole Miss

Louisville - Mississippi State

Clemson - Auburn

Florida State - LSU

North Carolina - Mizzou

Notre Dame - Tennessee

Pitt - South Carolina

VT - Something similar to MSU, Arkansas, OM, TN

I don' see an Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M, or Florida in this conference. Not to mention that the ACC works like the SEC where you don't play everyone. The average SEC schedule is far more difficult

 

[aTotal360]

^^^This^^^

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

We were an Offensive Line away from being in playoff 2 years ago....

We were an Offensive Line (and a bad gameplan vs BAMA) from being in playoff 2 years ago....

 

[Hoover Dawg]

Leeshouldveflanked must be one of those MSU fans that hasn't been outside of the Sebastopol to Starkville highway corridor.

 

[BiscuitEater]

In a lot of ways we are very similar....Agriculture Based....Conference(like it or not ACC is just as good, or maybe better than SEC)...Rural Location...Similar Athletic Budgets (Clemson has a few more sports than us)..

Who was the last player that gave up a full ride scholarship at Clemson to walk-on at Mississippi State? I check back later.

#12 Nick Schuessler QB 6-3/200 Senior (RS) 2VL Accounting Grayson, GA
2016 Graduate student .. An original walk-on who has been a reserve quarterback .. Was 44-66 passing for 564 yards in his career

2015: Completed 13-23 passes for 177 yards, with one interception

2014: Was 7-8 for 47 yards in 38 snaps over five games

2013: Was 1-2 passing for six yards and had a five-yard carry in nine snaps over three games

2012: Redshirted ... sat out due to NCAA transfer rules.

Before Clemson: Originally signed with Mississippi State ... lettered at Grayson High School.

 

[thekimmer]

All true but....

In a lot of ways we are very similar....Agriculture Based....Conference(like it or not ACC is just as good, or maybe better than SEC)...Rural Location...Similar Athletic Budgets (Clemson has a few more sports than us)..

From Scout.... here are Clemson's last 4 recruiting classes....
2016 16th
2015 15th
2014 28th
2013 12th..

It shows you don't have to have Top Ten Classes, but you have to have top 20..... One thing is that Dabo locks up the in state Talent and gets a lot of good players from Georgia....
I'm not a Jake Wimberly fan, but he did make a very good point the other day comparing MSU and Clemson going back to the 1999 Peach Bowl...however, I think Dan Mullen is more Tommy Bowden than he is Dabo Swinney....

They are in a small rural town but unlike us, part of a metro area of 1.5 million people. Based on proximity, they also have huge recruiting ties in GA. Clemson would have been a much better fit for the SEC than USC (sorry gamecocks).

But yes, they are much like us. They were in fact, patterned after us, so sure, why can't we do it too? We don't have to be exactly like them. They have 35 years between their NCs. I'll be happy with just one in my lifetime.

 

[Shamoan]

cleMSon.....the "MS" makes it clear that we are uncannily similar. im booking my tickets to the national title game right now.

 

[philduckworth]

In a lot of ways we are very similar....Agriculture Based....Conference(like it or not ACC is just as good, or maybe better than SEC)...Rural Location...Similar Athletic Budgets (Clemson has a few more sports than us)..

From Scout.... here are Clemson's last 4 recruiting classes....
2016 16th
2015 15th
2014 28th
2013 12th..

It shows you don't have to have Top Ten Classes, but you have to have top 20..... One thing is that Dabo locks up the in state Talent and gets a lot of good players from Georgia....
I'm not a Jake Wimberly fan, but he did make a very good point the other day comparing MSU and Clemson going back to the 1999 Peach Bowl...however, I think Dan Mullen is more Tommy Bowden than he is Dabo Swinney....

Even though are recruiting rankings are somewhat similar you have to look at how many of their guys had Power 5 offers other than Clemson and look at how many of our guys had Power 5 offers other than MSU.

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

Realistic Improvements that could be made......

1. Upgrade Assistants- The Country Club has run its course.... move Hevesy to TE/Assistant Head Coach.... Hire the best OL coach out there, and let him know his recruiting base is Worldwide.... Hire a coach with a lot of Mississippi Connections at RB....Please find a good Power 5 D Coordinator...

2. Upgrade Strength and Conditioning Coach... this appears to be a big weakness since Balis left....

3. Focus on improving relations with Mississippi HS Coaches....

4. Upgrade West Side of Scott Field with suites...bowl in and build condos in South end zone, implode Dorman and build a parking garage.....move press box to endzone and wrap around corner similar to Kentucky....instead of focusing on adding seating, focus more on premium seating... I think 60-65K is good enough for the next 20 years...

5. Work with Starkville to make the Cotton District/Mill more Student Friendly and Safer..

 

[the dog is on the loose]

They are in a small rural town but unlike us, part of a metro area of 1.5 million people. Based on proximity, they also have huge recruiting ties in GA. Clemson would have been a much better fit for the SEC than USC (sorry gamecocks).

But yes, they are much like us. They were in fact, patterned after us, so sure, why can't we do it too? We don't have to be exactly like them. They have 35 years between their NCs. I'll be happy with just one in my lifetime.

How are they patterned after us. Looks like it would be the other way around.

 

[Hoover Dawg]

Bigger than any of that, is improving the state of Mississippi's economic climate. Get more people there. This comes first - all you say comes second, at least in the long-term. And long-term is how we match Clemson-type schools. It can't be done short-term. Sorry.

 

[BulldogBlitz]

Which of our players is going to volunteer for junk fumbling duty?

 

[Xenomorph]

Probably 40 other fan bases thinking the same this morning.

 

[11thEagleFan]

Pretty cool stat: On their way to a national championship this year, Clemson beat the teams responsible for the previous 7 national titles. Also, I just think Dabo Swinney is a cool guy. I'd want him to coach my kid. I've seen him criticized for being too evangelical like Freeze, but the difference is, I think (and hope) he's sincere. Google "Dabo Swinney early life" for a really good ESPN story written about a year ago. Sorry, too lazy to link on mobile.

 

[Dawgzilla]

I don't see it. Not even a drill field.

View attachment 5871

They do, however, have a building that is intentionally based on Auburn's Samford Hall:

View attachment 5872 View attachment 5874

 

[LTblows]

Couldn't disagree more about the campuses. I was a student at both. State's campus is much, much more beautiful than Clemson's. Clemson doesn't make campus aesthetics a priority with their money.

 

[WayboDawg]

Having read through all the comments in this thread so far, I'm certain now that some of you will use any excuse in the book for why MSU can't be successful at the highest level. I can't fathom why you pay attention to the games if you are that convinced that we are doomed to failure. MSU has the resources to win a National Championship.

 

[thekimmer]

We are some 11 years older than Clemson. CU's founder had this to say.....

How are they patterned after us. Looks like it would be the other way around.

Thomas Green Clemson, the university's founder, came to the foothills of South Carolina in 1838, when he married Anna Maria Calhoun, daughter of John C. Calhoun, a South Carolina statesman and seventh U.S. Vice President.[SUP][12][/SUP] When Clemson died on April 6, 1888, he left most of his estate, which he inherited from his wife, in his will to be used to establish a college that would teach scientific agriculture and the mechanical arts to South Carolinians.[SUP][13][/SUP] His decision was largely influenced by future South Carolina Governor Benjamin Tillman. Tillman lobbied the South Carolina General Assembly to create the school as an agricultural institution for the state and the resolution passed by only one vote.

In his will, Clemson explicitly stated that he wanted the school to be modeled after what is now Mississippi State University: "This institution, I desire, to be under the control and management of a board of trustees, a part of whom are hereinafter appointed, and to be modeled after the Agricultural College of Mississippi as far as practicable."[SUP][14][/SUP]


That is indeed what happened. Representatives were dispatched to Starkville and the rest is history.

 

[Hoover Dawg]

Because......reasons? I've seen many people give the reasons why we can't have Clemson success. I've not seen ONE person give a reason why we CAN at present. Why don't you tell me? Barring the state of Mississippi gaining 2 million more people overnight, give me a legitimate reason we can compete at the highest level.

And I'd like something more substantial than the following: reasons, excuses, negative, etc.

 

[Salty Sands Dawg]

Thank you for stating the facts. To many people have listened to ESPN tell the ******** story of the Auburn relationship, when in fact Mississippi State is their sister institution, cited directly in the school charter.

 

[LawDawg97]

Every school in the SEC has the resources

MSU has the resources to win a National Championship.

As well as a few dozen others cumulatively in the Big 10, Big 12, Pac 10 and ACC.

That's the problem. No one is saying we can't ever possibly win it, but the deck is stacked heavily against because of our location, population base and the rich history that other schools can boast about. Doesn't mean we can't contend, but look at Georgia. They have our resources and then some and haven't pulled it off in 30 years.

I don't consider not winning a NC doomed to failure, but getting to Atlanta again and finishing consistently in the top 25 would be a good start to success

 

[coach66]

Here's link to mans Will who gave the land

http://www.clemson.edu/about/history/tgc-will.html

 

[mcdawg22]

We were an Offensive Line (and a bad gameplan vs BAMA) from being in playoff 2 years ago....

Why do people keep saying this ****. We were 3 Prescott interceptions away from beating Bama. I love Dak but that loss was largely on him.

 

[WrapItDog]

Louisville - Mississippi State

Tell me about that school year when MSU won a BCS Bowl game, played in the Final Four, and went to the College World Series like Louisville did in 2012-13.