High Expectations Are Hardest Part Of Playing In A 4th Straight CFP
By Will Vandervort - The Clemson Insider
High expectations are hardest part of playing in a 4th straight CFP
Christian Wilkins admits it. There are parts of playing in a fourth straight College Football Playoff that make things easy. Then there are other parts that are hard.
Those hard parts? The expectations.
Because No. 2 Clemson, which will play Notre Dame in the 83rd Cotton Bowl Classic on Dec. 29, have done this three times before, the expectations to succeed are extremely high. Of course, the Tigers have had some good moments in the CFP and some not so good moments as well.
Clemson (13-0) won the national championship in 2016, while it advanced to the title game in 2015. It shut out Ohio State and then beat Alabama in ’16, while they beat Oklahoma in ’15 before losing to the Crimson Tide in the championship game.
Then of course, there was last year’s Sugar Bowl loss to the Crimson Tide. The Tigers are 3-2 overall in the CFP, while its opponent, Notre Dame, is making its first appearance in the playoff.
“When you are in this position, the expectations for the people on the outside, they expect you to win and know what to do. But it is hard to do,” Wilkins said. “It is very hard to sustain success and consistency. That is a very hard thing to do.
“Like I said, that has been very hard to do. That is just a testament to everyone involved.”
That part of it does get easier. The easy part is knowing what to expect. It’s knowing what worked and what did not work, what can you add, what can you change and things like that.
“Teams in the Final Four are all really good. There is a reason for it,” Wilkins said. “It is a tough challenge. It does not matter what conference they are from or how easy we made it look. It is hard to prepare for these teams because they are all good. They are really talented, and they are more than capable of beating us.”
Clemson’s All-American defensive tackle says the hardest part right now is staying focused because they have so much more free time now that school is out.
“You kind of have to get a camp mindset, kind of like you are preparing for camp,” he said. “It is like getting ready for your first game of the season because you have so much free time.
“It is about remaining consistent and taking what you have done so far this season and staying sharp and take it into the playoff.”