You're on the right track here (as some of the others derail...
which I'm about to add to.)
Is it too far fetched for me to draw a comparison to Bill Curry when talking about Dabo? Curry couldn't beat Auburn, Dabo has a losing streak to UofSC. In 1989 the Curry coached Tide won the SEC. In 2011 Clemson wins the ACC.
Dabo took over the program full-time in 2009 which has given him five years to build Clemson to what it is today.
What's going to be the feeling among Clemson fans if the Tigers are beaten as badly in the bowl game this year as they were in Bowden's last season?
What I'm more curious about is this. Let's say Clemson plays Bama toe-to-toe. All of the fans who say "Dabo isn't ready for prime-time;" will they be criticizing him to the same degree? Will the crowd that feels he'd be a good fit at the Capstone in a few years grow larger?
Are you talking about the BCS game in 2008 when we got whipped early and often by Utah, or the Clemson game to open the season? I enjoyed the Clemson game in the dome but yeah, the bowl game was a due. Started when Andre got himself booted well before the game. Went downhill from there. Hopefully we have more integrity and desire now. Sure didn't show it last night though.
I have no desire to watch that game and I have a very eerie feeling that feels like 2008 that the team wont have any desire to play it...
Bird, you have a tendency to have an eerie feeling about a lot of things. That's no dig at you. Your concerns aren't something you've pulled out of thin air: they're possible.
In this case trying to draw a comparison between the Sugar Bowl in 2008 vs a bowl game now...can't say you can make that comparison because to two cultures with both teams are in such stark contrast.
(FWIW, it's my opinion that the loss of Andre' wasn't what hurt the team as much as it was the early injury to Mike Johnson couple with Andre's suspension...losing the entire left side of the starting offensive line isn't something a lot of team could deal with. We could go further here...better left for another thread I suspect.)