“I guess the quarterback also played defense because since his injury they couldn’t stop anybody.”
You could say the same thing about Clemson. They played lowly Syracuse halfway through the season and lowly Syracuse beat them. Clemson is supposed to be this great team with a great defense yet they couldn’t beat one of the worst teams in the country. Yes Clemson was without their starting quarterback but it was Syracuse they were playing and they lost. Syracuse finished the season 4-8. No one seems to care that Clemson lost to lowly Syracuse but let Alabama lose game one in the last two seasons and the world stops and they’re not making the playoffs.
Clemson didn’t end up losing 6 games. The quarterback wasn’t the only issue with this team. Pre season rankings are nothing more than a beauty contest, completely subjective.