Back to normal? Breaking down Clemson’s 2021 football schedule |
With the release of the ACC football schedule recently, it feels we’ve turned the page on a weird 2020 season and can really look forward to what will hopefully be a very normal 2021 football season. The ACC didn’t do anything too strange with Clemson’s schedule. Clemson’s expected opponents and venues were not adjusted because of 2020’s funkiness.
The Tigers will go to Louisville and Raleigh as planned. They begin the season with an SEC opponent followed by a cupcake. They get Georgia Tech early in the year and Wake Forest late. They end with a cupcake followed by a trip to UofSC. It is all very normal and that feels pretty good right now! Week 1 (9/4) Clemson vs. Georgia (Charlotte, NC): This is the game of the year, not just for Clemson but for all of college football. Whether in person or on television, experiencing a game with a raucous passionate crowd will be special. Georgia looked better once they switched to QB JT Daniels, but Clemson’s defense could be dominant. Other ACC Action - North Carolina at Virginia Tech (9/2 or 9/3): The ACC kicks off the college football season with a weekday game where the winner will have the inside track to win the division. Meanwhile, Miami – the other team with a good shot to win the Coastal division – will take on Alabama in Atlanta. A competitive showing would be a welcome signal that Alabama may have some challenges replacing the incredible amount of talent they lost from 2020. Week 2 (9/11) South Carolina State at Clemson: SC State’s turn in the in-state FCS opponent rotation has come up. Normally this game feels a bit routine, but I think we can all treasure a little of that in the first game back in what will hopefully be a full Death Valley. Other ACC Action - Pittsburgh at Tennessee: The Volunteers may have a serious rebuild in front of them. Pittsburgh could head into Neyland Stadium as favorites. Week 3 (9/18) Georgia Tech at Clemson: Georgia Tech is getting better quickly, but something tells me they won’t close the 66-point gap from the last matchup in just a year. Swatting the Jackets will never get old though. This is an underrated ACC rivalry. Other ACC Action - Virginia Tech at West Virginia: Virginia Tech will drive four hours north into Big 12 territory to face the Mountaineers. It is a big year for head coach Justin Fuente and the Hokies. They could beat North Carolina and Miami and win the Coastal or they could continue to fade as recruiting weakens. They face North Carolina, West Virginia, and Notre Dame in their first five games. Week 4 (9/25) Clemson at NC State: The Textile Bowl returns for 2021. The Tigers have won 15 of 16 in the series and outscored the Wolfpack 96-17 in the last two matchups. When it was left off the 2020 schedule, I didn’t think too much about it, but in hindsight, I missed it. Shellacking your rivals is part of the beauty of college football. I expect it to resume in 2021. Other ACC Action - Louisville at Florida State: It will be interesting to take the temperature on these programs’ respective rebuilds when they go head-to-head. Week 5 (10/2) Boston College at Clemson: After starting 2-0 last season, the Eagles alternated wins and losses for the remainder of the season finishing 6-5. They looked impressive against Clemson though, and they bring back QB Phil Jurkovec. Surely the Tigers won’t sleep on Boston College again, right? Right? Other ACC Action - Syracuse at Florida State: Florida State can’t afford to lose this game if they want to stay on track in their rebuild. Syracuse coach Dino Babers badly needs to show they’ve improved from last year’s 1-10 disaster. Week 6 (10/9) Open Date: The Tigers avoid a short week before their Friday night game with a well-timed open date. Other ACC Action - Notre Dame at Virginia Tech: Notre Dame loses a lot of talent, and Lane Stadium should provide a strong home-field advantage for the Hokies. The Irish will be coming off back-to-back games against Wisconsin and Cincinnati with their open date on the horizon. Week 7 (10/16) Clemson at Syracuse (Friday 10/15): Clemson lost at Syracuse on a Friday back in 2017, but Clemson wasn’t coming off an open date in 2017, so this is a much different scenario. It undoubtedly has a dark déjà vu feel to it, but Clemson should be rested and ready to take care of business. Syracuse was very bad last season and may struggle again in 2021. Getting a win in on Friday and being able to fully enjoy other games on Saturday would be quite a treat. Other ACC Action - Miami at North Carolina: Fortunately, the week Clemson plays on a Friday is also the week that the ACC has their best conference matchup of the year. North Carolina boat-raced Miami in 2020. They’ll try to do it again and this time there will likely be major division title implications. Week 8 (10/23) Clemson at Pittsburgh: Clemson has played Pitt in Death Valley twice (2016, 2020) and in Charlotte once (2018), but this will be the Tigers’ first trip to Heinz Field. The Panthers may present the stiffest test on Clemson’s ACC schedule. The Panthers only lost by one point to NC State and Boston College, their losses to Miami and Notre Dame came without starting QB Kenny Pickett, and their only other loss was to Clemson. Pickett will use the NCAA’s blanket eligibility waiver to return for a fifth season. He should be among the top-five QBs in the ACC. Other ACC Action - NC State at Miami: These two teams played a barnburner in 2020 (44-41 Miami win) and this should once again be a good barometer game for both. Week 9 (10/30) Florida State at Clemson: While this series hasn’t been close in recent years, the rivalry got ratcheted up a notch when Florida State cancelled last year’s game after the Tigers had already arrived in Tallahassee. Florida State cited one positive COVID-19 test among Clemson players as the reason, but Coach Swinney and several players argued that wasn’t the real reason for the cancellation. Other ACC Action - North Carolina at Notre Dame: The Irish beat the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill last season, but they lose QB Ian Book and a lot of the talent around him. Meanwhile, UNC returns QB Sam Howell, who many sportsbooks have behind only OU’s Spencer Rattler and Clemson’s DJ Uiagalelei in Heisman odds. The Heels lost some playmakers on offense but return 18-of-22 starters overall. Week 10 (11/6) Clemson at Louisville: Louisville was not on Clemson’s 2020 schedule, but they return to the slate for 2021.The Tigers are 6-0 all-time against Louisville, but the Cardinals have provided several memorable, close contests -- including Clemson’s 42-36 comeback win over the Lamar Jackson-led Cardinals in 2016. The road trip to Louisville is one of the best in the ACC with plenty to do and a good stadium atmosphere for the game. Other ACC Action - Virginia Tech at Boston College (Friday 11/5): Although I don’t love Clemson playing on weekdays, it is great when other teams do so we can enjoy an ACC game on a Friday evening as an appetizer for the full slate of action the next day. Week 11 (11/13) UConn at Clemson: Connecticut left the AAC to put their basketball program back in the Big East, only for COVID to hit and leave them unable (or unwilling) to compile a schedule for 2020. They canceled last season and will likely be a weak opponent for Clemson. Other ACC Action - NC State at Wake Forest: This is low-key a good rivalry and Wake Forest quietly dominates the Wolfpack in Winston-Salem. They’ve won eight of nine against the ‘Pack at home. Week 12 (11/20) Wake Forest at Clemson: Something about playing Wake Forest late in the season just feels right to me, even if this isn’t the most exciting matchup for Clemson. Other ACC Action – Virginia Tech at Miami: They’ve split the last two in games in the series with Virginia Tech winning by seven at Miami and the Hurricanes escaping Blacksburg with a one-point last year. Week 13 (11/27) Clemson at South Carolina: The Palmetto Bowl had been continuously played every year since 1909 until 2020’s one-year hiatus. Fortunately, it returns, and the Tigers will look to stretch their win streak to seven games and their overall record against the Gamecocks to 72-42-4. Other ACC Action – Virginia Tech at Virginia: The Commonwealth Cup has joined the Egg Bowl (Mississippi State vs. Ole Miss) as one of my favorite under-the-radar college football rivalries. Of course, Alabama vs. Auburn and Ohio State vs. Michigan take precedence on this weekend. Closing thoughts: I can’t applaud the Clemson athletic department enough for biting the bullet and sacrificing the seventh home game to get an agreement in place to play Georgia to open the season. With that colossal matchup and the resumption of three rivalries that I didn’t realize I’d miss so much - NC State, Florida State, and South Carolina – we couldn’t ask for much more. Aside from only having six home games, it is a very normal looking football schedule and normal has never looked so good.
Upgrade Your Account
Unlock premium boards and exclusive features (e.g. ad-free) by upgrading your account today.
Upgrade Now
