David Hale

Writing about college football every Saturday seems like a fun and even easy job.

But being asked to intelligently summarize the invariable unfolding of 12-plus hours worth of craziness, while not missing anything important, while trying to prioritize events amid the sensory overload of games and social media, and while spicing humor into every other paragraph, is not an easy thing to do.

David Hale of ESPN.com has mastered the art of the college football recap column. Late every Saturday night, perhaps with the aid of a few adult beverages, he files a riotous, wildly entertaining and absolute must read about the day's events.

Hale, who has followed Clemson closely for all the high points of the Dabo Swinney era, is like the rest of us in trying to process how the Tigers have fallen so far on offense.

Hale gives his take on Swinney's circle-the-wagons sermon to fans that punctuated Wednesday's appearance on WCCP-FM as part of the Tigers for Tatas fundraising effort.

Also, having covered Florida State closely, Hale is an expert on what the collapse of a great football program looks like. He gives his response to the folks who say Clemson's current malaise is less a brief dip and more indicative of a program in long-term decline.