The Clemson Insider staff members Robert MacRae,Will Vandervort, Gavin Oliver, Kaila Burns-Heffner, William Qualkinbush and Gabby Bates go Around the Horn to answer some of the questions surrounding Clemson athletics and college football.

How many regular season wins for Clemson in 2016?

Robert MacRae – It’s going to be another perfect season for Clemson football. Back to back 12-0 seasons is on the way. Clemson is more talented than every team on the schedule with the possible exception of Florida State, where the two may be similar. The perfect season will likely be determined by the Florida State game. I’ll got with a Clemson win in Tally due in large part to Deshaun Watson. That gives Clemson the edge.

Auburn is a hurdle because it is the first game of the season on the road in the SEC. Clemson is clearly the more talented team. Unless they have some fluke first game mistakes, they should leave Auburn with a great season on the horizon.

Clemson once again will not lose at home and it should be a fun Thanksgiving in Death Valley as the Tigers whip South Carolina to end their season.

Will Vandervort: Look, it is hard to go undefeated. Before last year’s undefeated regular season, Clemson had not done that in 34 years so to say the Tigers can go undefeated for a second straight year sounds crazy, right? Call me crazy, I guess. I think Clemson will run the table this year and will be back in the College Football Playoff. The schedule is way easier than last year’s  Granted, three of the Tigers’ five hardest games are on the road–Auburn, Georgia Tech and Florida State–but the schedule is relatively easy. Auburn will be tough because it is the season opener and going to Jordan Hare is a tough place to win for anybody, no matter how good Auburn is or isn’t. But Georgia Tech and South Carolina are expect to have down years once again, and though Louisville will be a challenge, the Tigers get the Cardinals at home.

What does all of this mean? It means its a two-game regular season for Clemson. If the Tigers take down Auburn like I expect, then it sets up a winner-take-all showdown in Tallahassee with Florida State on Oct. 29. Win that, like I think they will, then the Tigers go undefeated for a second straight year.

William Qualkinbush – I don’t think anybody really thinks Clemson has much to worry about with its home games. All the nervousness of fans will be contained in three games—at Auburn, at Georgia Tech, at Florida State. Auburn isn’t really a threat in my mind, as the Tigers from the Plains are a dysfunctional mess these days that will likely be trotting out a nonsense option at quarterback against Clemson in the opener. Funky things happen in Atlanta, but in a predictive sense, that’s hard to factor in. Clemson clearly has the better team. That leaves the Seminoles, and I just cannot see Clemson running the table with a road date in Tallahassee. It’s the perfect storm of talent and venue, so I see the Tigers going 11-1 in 2016. What that means with regards to the CFP remains to be seen.

Gavin Oliver –  Record: 11-1

Clemson is certainly capable of going undefeated in consecutive regular seasons. The Tigers have more than enough firepower on offense, and like last season, I don’t expect a considerable drop-off on defense despite questions in the secondary. However, winning 24 straight regular season games is a tall task for any program in today’s college-football landscape, and though Clemson’s schedule is favorable, three games stand out to me as particularly challenging.

First, facing Georgia Tech in Atlanta is rarely a cakewalk for Clemson. The Tigers haven’t won there since 2003, but there is a wide gap in the level of talent between the teams. I expect the home matchup against a much-improved Louisville team — one some pundits are predicting to be a dark-horse College Football Playoff contender — to be a hard-fought affair. And finally, of course, Clemson’s trip to Tallahassee on Oct. 29 should decide which school represents the Atlantic in the ACC title game, and perhaps the Playoff. The good news for Clemson is it has bye week before Florida State. As for the Auburn opener, I expect Clemson will be well prepared and easily cover what is currently a two-score spread. All things considered, Clemson has the potential to return to the Playoff and compete for the national championship.

Gabby Bates – I believe the Tigers will lose one regular season game and that will be to Florida State. Opening the season up to Auburn is going to be huge but not as big as the Florida State game. This game will likely determine the ACC Division Champions and then possibly the ACC Champions. Also, playing at Florida State, in their house, is going to make it even more difficult for the Tigers. I can only imagine how the atmosphere will be there.

As far as what the Seminoles will bring to the table, you have to consider that their quarterback has one year under his belt and has grown more comfortable with running the offense. I think we will also see both the defensive line and offensive line show more consistency. We also can’t  forget about running back Dalvin Cook who is a dangerous player when he has the ball in his hands.

This game is such a huge rivalry and the Seminoles are going to do everything they can to keep us from going back to the National Championship.

Kaila Burns-Heffner – 11

I really wanted to say 12 but last season I predicted Clemson to lose one game (to Louisville) in the regular season and the Tigers went on to go undefeated. Yes. that may make me superstitious and may play a role in me predicting an 11-1 season again this year. However, this time my only concern is Florida State. Clemson has the capability in my opinion to go undefeated again, but a trip to Doak Campell Stadium lurks around the corner. The last time Clemson played there in 2014, it was not pretty and the Tigers will not be able to escape with a win from its top competition in the ACC if a sloppy game is played. Do I think a victory is possible over Florida State? Absolutely, but Clemson will need to keep it’s team healthy and having a bye week before the big matchup is huge. The Seminoles also have a bye week to prepare for the game as well, so it could be a tough match, especially with Florida State’s veteran receiving corps.