We need to stop with the "Clemson showed us the blueprint" rhetoric. Sure, there might be some things that we can take from their rise such as making sure university leadership is aligned with the athletic department, but it would be nearly impossible for us to duplicate what has happened in Clemson
1) You can't duplicate Dabo Swinney. Whether their old AD actually knew what he was doing or if they just got plain lucky, you're never going to know if you've got someone like that on your hands until it happens. Whatever you think of him, he's got an awesome hard knock story to sell people in the media and on the recruiting trail. He came up through the best program in the history of CFB as a coach and player, but he's now created something totally distinct from what is happening at Bama. He's a very rare commodity relative to other head coaches, and he was a monster recruiter as an assistant. Some of our fans make fun of him selling real estate, but that experience probably did nothing but make him more successful now as someone who sells his vision. Add in the fact that this is the social media age and he's got a million sound bytes ready at any time, and it makes it even harder to duplicate his impact.
2) Clemson is a completely different environment from our campus. We make fun of them as sheep herders and all of that, but they've been known as a place that is 100% focused on college football and all that comes with it for a long time. It's only been recently that we actually had some decent spots to tailgate at within walking distance of WB, and they've been selling that down home scene for their whole history. I have no doubt that it is easier to get away with things and shield your program when you're nestled in some far flung hills instead of being in the state capital. Clemson the town is nothing at all and exists just for the purpose of the university. We have a totally different feel that appeals to some kids, but they do a good job of selling the whole safety and 100% devotion to football angle to mamas and grandmamas when they're recruiting. Throw in the media coverage in the capital and it's a totally different ballgame.
3) Clemson already had legit history. Yes, it had been 20 years since they were really nationally relevant, but they did a good job of harping on that 1981 title and all of their conference titles. We have ONE conference title in over 120 years. They had coaches like Frank Howard and Danny Ford who were known across the south and the whole game of CFB. Certainly we pulled a coup bringing in Lou and Spurrier back to back, but we don't have any coaches who are historically known for doing great things as a Carolina man. We all love the memory of Joe Morrison, but people around the country don't remember him and can't point to anything sustained that he did here. This is one of those vicious cycles where you have to have had some success already on a grand scale to duplicate it at a later point. Hell, college basketball is the same way and that's even with a tournament that allows for true Cinderella runs.
We need to try and forge our own path. No, I don't have all the answers, but I know that we can't duplicate the three things I mentioned above with respect to Clemson.