But what it always brings as kickoff draws near every week is anxiety. There's always the nervous energy of the unknown heading into a game. You can never be sure how things will go, and where the rollercoaster will take you. However, while we all feel it, some of us feel it more than others, and each week, The Anxiety Rankings aim to find the five most anxious places in the country.
Welcome to Week 2. Try to stay calm. You'll fail, but try all the same.
1. Dabo Swinney
This is about far more than one loss, as bad as Clemson's .I'm not an expert, but I think any time you're hitting a reporter with a "did you play football? " after the first game of the season, it says far more about your mental state than theirs. Swinney is already on the defensive with 11 games to go (I did play in high school, though not particularly well, which I guess is a requirement for knowing how many games there are in a season in Dabo's mind), and it's not hard to understand why. He relented a bit this offseason and went into the transfer portal. He also tried to restore the past by bringing back old friend Chad Morris to run the offense and infuse more energy into the unit.
And none of it mattered against LSU. Clemson was crushed, and it was already playing musical chairs at quarterback after one game in which the offense managed a meager 145 yards. The loss dropped Clemson to 4-6 in 10 games against ranked teams since the 2023 season. They're 20-15 against Power Four competition in that time.
Clemson went 35-17 against ranked teams from 2011-22 and 119-23 against the Power Four. Only Alabama had a higher win percentage than the Tigers against the Power Four in that span. It's been clear to many outside of Clemson that the program has been moving in the wrong direction for a few years now, as Swinney has been slow to embrace the foundational changes to the sport that the transfer portal and NIL have proven to be. More and more, Clemson fans have begun to turn on Swinney as well.
Now I wonder if Swinney sees the writing on the wall, too. Nobody can deny what he's accomplished. He's been one of the greatest coaches of his era and did things with Clemson that nobody else has. But that will only carry you so far. Once fans taste success, it's difficult to swallow anything else.
The situation reminds me of the late Bobby Bowden era at Florida State. Bowden was the greatest coach in program history. He won two national titles, and from 1987-2000, the Seminoles won at least 10 games every season. But then came an 8-4 in 2001 and 9-5 in 2002. The Noles still won the ACC, but after returning to 10-3 in 2003, they never won 10 games again under Bowden. Still, Bowden hung on to the job through the 2009 season because he was Bobby Bowden, and Bobby Bowden was Florida State.
It's hard to associate Clemson football with anybody other than Dabo Swinney much the same way. But for how much longer? For the first time since his early tenure, Swinney's starting to feel the heat.
2. Steve Sarkisian
You cannot blame Steve Sarkisian if he's a bit nervous this week. There isn't a coach in the country who doesn't feel some nerves when they're preparing for Ohio State. And when you've lost to those same Buckeyes each of the last two seasons, it only turns the intensity up a notch. Add in the fact that this time you're playing them at your place, and the stakes get a little higher.Because what if you lose to them again? Doing it at their place or a neutral site in two close games is one thing, but at home, where you have the advantage? People will begin wondering if you'll ever be able to do it.
It's not all that dissimilar to Texas' Georgia problem. Sark's Longhorns have been outstanding the last three seasons, going 35-8. That includes a record of 14-7 against ranked opponents, beginning with that 34-24 win at Alabama in early 2023. The problem is that you can break that record up into two categories.
Texas is 14-2 against ranked teams not named Georgia and Ohio State, and 0-5 against ranked teams named Georgia and Ohio State. If Texas and Sark are going to win a national title -- and make no mistake about it, that's the goal -- they need to figure out a way to win these games. Considering all the resources put into this year's roster, this feels like their best chance to do so.
And where the anxiety comes in is: what if they don't? It's not just that they've lost to Ohio State again; it's that they still have to play six more games against currently ranked teams, including three more top-10 teams. A win here is a major boost to confidence and playoff hopes. A loss reduces your margin of error quite a bit, and shakes your confidence a bit.
