Since 2014, Clemson has been a top 10 team in yards allowed and/or points allowed every year. That is six straight seasons being one of the best defenses in the country.

It is no coincidence the Tigers have also been one of the best programs in the country over that same time period. Granted, Clemson has also had one of the best offensive units in the country in most years, especially with transcendent quarterbacks in Tajh Boyd, Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence.

But in this day and age where offenses rule, it is those select few programs, who can still be dominant on defense that are the difference between being a conference championship contender and a national championship contender.

When Boyd, along with his many offensive weapons, was setting offensive records every year, Clemson was an ACC Championship contender. That is why the Tigers won the ACC in 2011 and were right there in contention to win it again in 2012 and 2013.

But when Clemson put it all together, when Bren Venables’ defenses started to match the offensive success the Tigers have had under Chad Morris, Jeff Scott and Tony Elliott, the program went to another level.

“What people don’t understand about Brent is that they’re stripping that thing down and rebuilding it year to year. It is really amazing,” an anonymous coach told Athlon Magazine about Venables.

What has made Venables so good is his ability to take what he has from year to year and devise a scheme that fits his personnel. Last year, Clemson’s defensive coordinator devised his entire scheme around the talents of linebacker Isaiah Simmons, using the All-American’s ability to do almost everything as a way to confuse quarterbacks.

It worked. Clemson’s defense was one of the best units in scoring, passing, rushing and total defense. According to Athlon, the Tigers forced a three-and-out 46.6 percent of the time in 2019, which led the nation.

This is following a season in which Clemson led the country in sacks, tackles for loss, had the No. 1 scoring defense and led the country in eight other categories, too. The difference in 2018 was that they did it with a dominant defensive front, led by three first-round draft picks in Clelin Ferrell, Christian Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence.

“One year they have all those NFL defensive linemen and they go real simple. Last year, they flipped their defense,” the anonymous coach said to Athlon. “Three safeties, three-down blitzes from the secondary. They changed so much.”

The anonymous coach, who Athlon says is a competitor of the Tigers, expects Venables to change things up again this year. Clemson returns six starters on defense, including all four starters on the defensive line.

The Tigers have to replace two linebackers and three starters in the secondary, though free safety Nolan Turner brings a lot of experience to the table as a redshirt senior.

“They’ll do something fundamentally different this year, just wait,” the anonymous coach said. “He’ll look at the personnel and rewrite the plan… Year in and year out, this is one of the four best programs in college football until further notice.”

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