It's exactly like Rutgers. You're picking an arbitrary and small sample size and extrapolating that to the entire program.
A number of RU fans that I interacted w/ extrapolated a #6 2007 finish to their entire program and concluded that they were elite. In doing so, they ignored their future prospects and their past achievements (or lack thereof).
Nothing in Clemson's history or existing infrastructure indicates that they are going to eclipse Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Texas, Notre Dame, FSU, Florida, Oklahoma, USC, or even the likes of LSU, Georgia, or Auburn.
Yeah, I get that they've had a great last couple of years. Texas was phenomenal the 10 years before that. Pretending like schools don't ebb and flow is crazy.
We had a better 90's that either Clemson or USC. Would you say that we had a better program in 2000?
**And to be clear, I'm not saying that Clemson isn't good. They are. In fact, they've been quite good, and they'll continue to be quite good for the foreseeable future. They're just not better than schools like Alabama.**