Post by cantonhall34 on Jul 1, 2013 23:24:59 GMT -5
Clemson's 2013 Schedule HOME games in BOLD, * conference games
Sat, Aug 31 Georgia
Sat, Sep 07 South Carolina State
Thu, Sep 19 @ NC State *
Sat, Sep 28 Wake Forest *
Sat, Oct 05 @ Syracuse *
Sat, Oct 12 Boston College *
Sat, Oct 19 Florida State *
Sat, Oct 26 @ Maryland *
Sat, Nov 02 @ Virginia *
Thu, Nov 14 Georgia Tech *
Sat, Nov 23 Citadel
Sat, Nov 30 @ South Carolina
Obviously any talk of the Tigers having a good season will begin with a good start vs. Georgia. This is one of the biggest games of opening week and one of the biggest non-conference games of the year, pitting two teams with BCS aspirations against each other early on in the season.
The schedule should produce 9 wins, with swing games vs. Georgia, vs. Florida St., and @south Carolina to close the year. Given how good the Tigers COULD BE and the way the schedule breaks down for them, the final game of the season against the arch-rival Gamecocks could determine a great deal in the national landscape. Possible BCS bids could be up for grabs in that one, and the winner COULD BE in line for a Title Game appearance, depending of course...
Clemson has three wins over Top 25 SEC teams over the last two years, the only non-SEC school nationally that can make that claim. In fact there have been only seven non-conference wins over Top 25 SEC teams the last two years and Clemson has three of the seven. The Tigers are also the only ACC team and one of just 13 programs nationally to win at least 10 games each of the last two seasons.
All-American QB Tajh Boyd will lead one of the nation's best offenses, and coming off a year where he produced almost as many TD's (46 - just one fewer) as Heisman winner Johnny Manziel last season, could be one of the finalists for the award this season. Sammy Watkins will look to rebound from a disappointing 2012 season and regain his 2011 form, where he was a game-breaker in every aspect of the offense and special teams.
The much maligned defense actually showed some improvement over the last half of the season, and the second year under Defensive Coordinator Brent Venables shows promise as the Tigers finished first in 4th down defense and red-zone defense last season in the ACC. There are 10 players returning that started at least 5 games last year.
If all goes well it could be a banner year for the Tigers. Nine wins seems like a formality (but we all know that's not always the case) but the swing games - and biggest challenges - should be the three marquee games that will decide the fate of the season. Unless there's an injury to a major player or an upset lurking (say @ Syracuse, etc) I don't see any way they don't approach double digit wins again this year.
Worst case scenario - 8-9 wins, Best case scenario - 12 wins, ACC Title, and who knows after that...and that's a REAL possibility if things fall right.
Sat, Aug 31 Georgia
Sat, Sep 07 South Carolina State
Thu, Sep 19 @ NC State *
Sat, Sep 28 Wake Forest *
Sat, Oct 05 @ Syracuse *
Sat, Oct 12 Boston College *
Sat, Oct 19 Florida State *
Sat, Oct 26 @ Maryland *
Sat, Nov 02 @ Virginia *
Thu, Nov 14 Georgia Tech *
Sat, Nov 23 Citadel
Sat, Nov 30 @ South Carolina
Obviously any talk of the Tigers having a good season will begin with a good start vs. Georgia. This is one of the biggest games of opening week and one of the biggest non-conference games of the year, pitting two teams with BCS aspirations against each other early on in the season.
The schedule should produce 9 wins, with swing games vs. Georgia, vs. Florida St., and @south Carolina to close the year. Given how good the Tigers COULD BE and the way the schedule breaks down for them, the final game of the season against the arch-rival Gamecocks could determine a great deal in the national landscape. Possible BCS bids could be up for grabs in that one, and the winner COULD BE in line for a Title Game appearance, depending of course...
Clemson has three wins over Top 25 SEC teams over the last two years, the only non-SEC school nationally that can make that claim. In fact there have been only seven non-conference wins over Top 25 SEC teams the last two years and Clemson has three of the seven. The Tigers are also the only ACC team and one of just 13 programs nationally to win at least 10 games each of the last two seasons.
All-American QB Tajh Boyd will lead one of the nation's best offenses, and coming off a year where he produced almost as many TD's (46 - just one fewer) as Heisman winner Johnny Manziel last season, could be one of the finalists for the award this season. Sammy Watkins will look to rebound from a disappointing 2012 season and regain his 2011 form, where he was a game-breaker in every aspect of the offense and special teams.
The much maligned defense actually showed some improvement over the last half of the season, and the second year under Defensive Coordinator Brent Venables shows promise as the Tigers finished first in 4th down defense and red-zone defense last season in the ACC. There are 10 players returning that started at least 5 games last year.
If all goes well it could be a banner year for the Tigers. Nine wins seems like a formality (but we all know that's not always the case) but the swing games - and biggest challenges - should be the three marquee games that will decide the fate of the season. Unless there's an injury to a major player or an upset lurking (say @ Syracuse, etc) I don't see any way they don't approach double digit wins again this year.
Worst case scenario - 8-9 wins, Best case scenario - 12 wins, ACC Title, and who knows after that...and that's a REAL possibility if things fall right.