In 1899, U.S. Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver, who represented Missouri, uttered the famous phrase, “I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.”

Despite lofty pre-season rankings from several national college publications, Clemson fans burned by disappointments of seasons past should be excused if they borrow Vandiver’s phrase to describe their expectations for each Tiger football season.

All too often, though, many Clemson fans buy into the hype that this could finally be the year the team wins the ACC football title that has eluded the program since 1991. Unfortunately, those expectations, accompanied by a Bowl Championship Series berth, have been met with the same results as one letting the air out of a balloon.

There are various reasons why the Tigers seemingly underachieve, with inconsistency chief among them. During the past five seasons, Clemson football has either started strong and finished weak or vice-versa.

In 2004, Clemson started 1-4 but finished 5-1 while the following year saw the Tigers transform a 4-4 start into a 4-0 finish. The rollercoaster ride continued in 2006 as a promising 7-1 start, coupled with a win over ninth-ranked Georgia Tech during an ESPN Gameday visit, disintegrated into a 1-4 finish.

Last year the Tigers watched their 4-0 start end with a 5-4 finish – including losses in two of their final three games.

The Tigers’ recent bowl record isn’t much to write home about either – with losses in eight of their past 11 appearances, including a 3-5 mark under current coach Tommy Bowden. In all fairness, though, Bowden is 2-2 in his last four bowl games.

It is for those reasons alone why I refuse to buy into the annual pre-season hype of ESPN, which has ranked Clemson as the No. 7 team in the country; along with The Sporting News, No. 9; Rivals’, No. 8, and Athlon, 10th. While the Tigers feature a large number of returning starters, with 12 players selected as All-ACC performers, this program has proven too disappointing in recent years for me to put on my Orange colored glasses and blindly jump aboard the Orange Express.

Certainly, I believe the Tigers COULD have an outstanding season on the gridiron. Everything is in place for success – facilities, outstanding recruiting classes, a favorable home schedule and the return of quarterback Cullen Harper, running backs James Davis and C.J. Spiller and wide receivers Aaron Kelly and Tyler Grisham on offense.

Defensively, the Tigers return nose guard Dorrell Scott, defensive ends Phillip Merling and Ricky Sapp, defensive tackle Rashaad Jackson, cornerback Crezdon Butler and safety Michael Hamlin among others.

Nothing would make me happier than to see Bowden finally lift the monkey from his back and win the ACC. I do believe he has done a good job overall, especially when considering the sad shape this program was in throughout much of the 1990s and especially in 1998. But there is absolutely no reason now why Clemson football cannot win the ACC and earn a major bowl bid.

But believing and doing are two different things. In order to reach those goals, Clemson must first wade through an increasingly tougher ACC that includes an improved N.C. State and Maryland squads, road visits to perennial nemeses Wake Forest and Boston College as well as another road trip to Florida State. You just know Daddy Bobby Bowden is going to be especially chomping at the bits to end a three-game losing streak, and four of the last five, to his son. A road visit to Virginia, where the Tigers haven’t played since a 2004 loss, won’t be a piece of cake either.

Despite scoffing by critics who point to the likes of S.C. State and The Citadel on Clemson’s non-conference schedule, The Tigers face a tough test out of the gate in late August when they travel to Atlanta to face Alabama. That game, a primetime ABC affair, will provide an early gauge on just how good, or perhaps how overrated, this Tiger team might be. Clemson players and coaches must block out the disappointing overtime loss to Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Bowl played last New Year’s Eve in the same Georgia Dome if they hope to beat the Crimson Tide.

The Tigers will also face another challenge in 2008 from perennial rival South Carolina. The Gamecocks and Ol’ Ball Coach Steve Spurrier will be eager to exact revenge after allowing last year’s game, in which they lost on a last-second field goal by Clemson placekicker Mark Buchholz, to slip away. South Carolina won their last visit to Death Valley 31-28 in 2006 when, ironically, former placekicker Jad Dean missed a last-second field goal attempt.

While it’s nice to see the Tigers gain respect from so many national publications, such enthusiasm should be tempered with the realization that pre-season predictions are just that.

Offensively, Clemson must overcome its inability to score touchdowns in the red zone and utilize the strengths of Davis and Spiller while, defensively, the Tigers must increase pressure on opposing quarterbacks. On special teams, Buchholz must show more consistency in his field goal attempts and the Tigers must do a better job of covering kickoffs and punt returns.

I wish the Tigers nothing but success in 2008 and will be the first to congratulate them if these pre-season predictions indeed come to fruition.

But they are going to have to “Show Me” first.