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25 biggest college football storylines for the 2022 season

By Michael Thompson

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - JANUARY 10: The National Championship Trophy is seen on the field prior to the 2022 CFP National Championship Game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs at Lucas Oil Stadium on January 10, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - JANUARY 10: The National Championship Trophy is seen on the field prior to the 2022 CFP National Championship Game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs at Lucas Oil Stadium on January 10, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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ORLANDO, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 29: Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers walks on the field prior to the game against the Iowa State Cyclones in the Cheez-It Bowl Game at Camping World Stadium on December 29, 2021 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 29: Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers walks on the field prior to the game against the Iowa State Cyclones in the Cheez-It Bowl Game at Camping World Stadium on December 29, 2021 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images) /

11. Does Clemson rebound?

When you think of the great powers in college football over the past decade, most people think of Alabama and Clemson. In the past decade, the Clemson Tigers have been to eight New Year’s Six bowls, including six CFP appearances, going 6-4 in those playoffs and bringing home two national championships. So what the heck happened last year?

In what may be one of the most disappointing 10-3 seasons you’ll ever see, the Tigers simply couldn’t stay healthy and couldn’t do anything offensively to save their lives. If not for a national title-level defense, they may have struggled to be bowl eligible.

These struggles lead to a great deal of change in Death Valley. Gone are both of Dabo Swinney’s coordinators, each taking head coaching jobs. With most of the elite talent on the defensive side of the ball return, these Tigers can get back to being great, but that puts the most pressure on the Clemson offense. The Tigers promoted their offensive coordinator from within, giving Brandon Streeter the play-calling duties. He has the important task of figuring out what happened to DJ Uiagalelei.

Uiagalelei, the former No. 1 overall recruit, dominated college football during his brief action as a freshman in place of Trevor Lawrence. The expectation in 2021 was that this would continue, but instead, Uiagalelei looked lost. He made poor decisions, his mechanics made Ben Simmons do a double take, and the Tigers fell into an offensive abyss.

What Streeter and Swinney need to figure out this season is what happened to Uiagalelei, can it be fixed, or do they want to hand the offense off to freshman Cade Klubnik. The decision could lead to a similar season as last year, or possibly a Kelly Bryant/Trevor Lawrence success story.

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