College Football Championship

There is no reason for the Clemson Tigers, their fans or anyone in the Upstate to hang their head after Monday's college football championship game. Clemson's football team, ranked No. 1 in the nation for much of the season, went to the title game and stood toe-to-toe with one of the most storied programs in all of NCAA football. It sounds like a cliche, but at the end of the day Clemson was about two plays away from a national title.

If you watched Monday night's game you know the story line. Clemson's offense moved with relative ease against a tough Alabama team. Deshaun Watson looked like a seasoned veteran as he scrambled for big yardage, or found the open man in the end zone -- twice it was freshman Hunter Renfrow -- and hit him with pinpoint accuracy. In the process, he set the record for the most total yards by a quarterback in a national championship game, with 478. The Tigers led this game as late as the 10:40 mark in the fourth quarter. Then chaos ensued: There were 40 points scored in the final 10:40 of this game. And an onside kick and long kick return by Alabama were about the only plays that separated these two teams.

Sure, it was a gut-wrenching game for fans who wanted to see their team come away with a win. But after the dust settled from Clemson's 45-40 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide and coach Nick Saban, this is the reality: Coach Dabo Swinney will still be at the helm next year. DeShaun Watson, one of the top quarterbacks in the country will be back for at least next season, and with a good chance to win the Heisman Trophy. And players like Clemson TE Jordan Leggett who's sticking around for his senior year, are saying things such as, "There's no reason to leave the No. 1 QB in the nation," according to a tweet last night by Greenville News Clemson beat writer Scott Keepfer.

Oh, yes, there is a lot of reason to be optimistic, Clemson fans.

It's also worth remembering that this is a college football program that focuses on more than just the game. For five straight years, Clemson has been one of the best programs in the nation when it comes to ensuring its athletes get an education, too. The school graduates 83.6 percent of its football players, according to a report earlier this year by ESPN. That's second-best in the country.

The Upstate, and all of South Carolina have reason to be proud of this football program (if only for a moment or two, Gamecocks fans).

All of the pieces are in place for Clemson to make another run at the national title. No, it won't be easy. Once you get to the top, everyone wants to knock you off. Teams will come into Death Valley next year with a chip on their shoulder, trying to show they can hang with the best by knocking off one of the top football programs in the country. And that will be the best compliment of all to what Dabo Swinney and his staff have built at Clemson University.

To echo the words of columnist Mandrallius Robinson in a column Tuesday morning, Clemson will be there again. Soon. Tigers fans will not have to wait another 34 years to get back to the biggest of all college football stages. And the next time, the outcome very easily could be even better.

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