I have a unique perspective being that I have a degree from both Bama and Clemson.
Truth is that If Clemson beats FSU, they will have wins against two quality opponents and a chance to play in a championship game. They're good and very close to elite. A playoff win over a Bama, LSU, or other top team seals elite status.
It's about time all of you guys quit pimping the SEC and worry about South Carolina. The SEC isn't your conference. You are still considered a junior league member by the established conference powers. There isn't a soul outside of Columbia that sees you as anything other than a perennial also ran that managed to attract a few transcendent talents at the same time and put together a nice run. No one... and I mean NO ONE in the conference is wondering what happened to South Carolina. The prevailing opinion is that the good years was the anomaly. What you see now is far more typical.
As far as Clemson is concerned, they are the talk of college football. It isn't Clemson's fault that perrennial powers Miami and Va Tech aren't good... heck... the vaunted SEC powers get to have conference cupcakes like Vandy and South Carolina on their schedules along with winnable games like Arkansas, MSU, Auburn and Tennessee as well. The ONLY team that would be favored over Clemson in neutral site game is Alabama.
That's it.
Quit banging on Clemson. They're doing good things the right way. Rather than tear them down, try to learn something from it.