Music to listen to: I’m So Into You by Peabo Bryson
Last Season: Clemson had its third consecutive double-digit win season in 2013, posting 11 victories, including a thrilling 40-35 Orange Bowl win over Ohio State. Head Dabo Swinney’s .689 winning percentage is the best for a Tigers’ head coach who has been at the job five or more years since Danny Ford.
Of course, the counter to Swinney’s success has been struggles against South Carolina, who he’s never beaten including last season’s 31-17 defeat to the Gamecocks. Clemson’s other loss last season came against future national champion Florida State in an embarrassing 51-14 home loss.
Offense: Tajh Boyd, the ACC’s second all-time leading passer has graduated. All-America wide receiver Sammy Watkins left early for the NFL. Top receiver Martavis Bryant and last season’s leading rusher Rod McDowell have also matriculated out of Clemson. The Tigers’ offense averaged a staggering 40.2 points per game and led the conference in passing yards per contest.
Renowned offensive coordinator Chad Morris will rely on senior quarterback Cole Stoudt as his new signal caller. If he stumbles, true freshman DeShaun Woods out of Gainesville, Ga. looks ready to fill in.
The top returning receiver is Adam Humphries who had 41 catches and 483 yards last season. The Tigers should also expect increased production from sophomore Mike Williams in the wide receiver spot.
Defense: The Clemson defense has been overshadowed over the past few years by the offense but may emerge as the stronger unit in 2014.
Senior defensive end Vic Beasley returns for another season after getting 13 sacks last year. He’s a preseason consensus All-America and most likely a top-10 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. His running mate on the defensive line, senior tackle Grady Jarrett is a strong run stuffer.
The Tigers’ linebacker group is deep led by senior Stephone Anthony who had 131 tackles last year.
The secondary returns seniors Robert Smith and Martin Jenkins.
Schedule:
| 8/30 | at Georgia |
| 9/6 | South Carolina State |
| 9/20 | at Florida State |
| 9/27 | North Carolina |
| 10/4 | NC State |
| 10/11 | Louisville |
| 10/18 | at Boston College |
| 10/25 | Syracuse |
| 11/6 | at Wake Forest |
| 11/15 | at Georgia Tech |
| 11/22 | Georgia State |
| 11/29 | South Carolina |
Clemson has a sneaky tricky schedule. National title hopes could be ended quickly with a season-opening loss at Georgia but ACC championship aspirations may be over by the third game at Florida State. After traveling to Tallahasseee, the Tigers should be favorites in every other game until the season finale against South Carolina.
An interesting debate for Tigers’ fans could be whether they would prefer to win an ACC title or finally defeat South Carolina if they couldn’t have both.
First memory:
My mother is from South Carolina so we would head down the low country often in my youth. The odd thing was that while my family consisted of mostly Clemson fans, we never sat around the dinner table and discussed the legendary teams of the early 1980’s or any positive memories from the program.
What I do remember though is the bad ass stadium entrance that Clemson has. The whole Death Valley, Howard’s Rock, running down the hill atmosphere gets my approval every time. I marveled at that as a kid and thought it represented some of the best attributes of college football. Still do.
Favorite alum:
Its a solid list but Robert Huebel makes me laugh and gets the nod. WAR Human Giant. Bring it back! Others: Mark Tremonti, Khalil Greene, Jimmy Key, Tim Teufel, Kris Benson, Tree Rollins, Levon Kirkland,
Crush:
I’ve been on Nancy O’Dell since the Access Hollywood days. She’s legitimately talented and good at her job while providing visual appeal. Other: Gigi Fernandez.
Overall outlook: If Clemson can get a road win at Georgia, they may be in line for a special season. Having Florida State on the same side of the division hurts the Tigers for conference title aspirations. However, the offense will gradually improve throughout the season under Morris and this may be the year that the losing streak to South Carolina ends.
I’m seeing a nine-win campaign for the Tigers with losses to Florida State, Georgia and sorry, South Carolina.
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