It’s Game Day in Death Valley where No. 2 Clemson battles Furman to open the 2018 season.  The Tigers hope the journey to Santa Clara begins today.

Location: Memorial Stadium (Death Valley)

Kickoff:  12:20 p.m.

Television:  ACC Network

Announcers:  Tom Werme, Dave Archer, Lerecia Harris

2018 Record: Clemson  0-0,  Furman 0-0

ACC Record: Clemson 0-0

Series History: Clemson leads 42-10-4

Last Meeting:  Clemson won 41-7 in 2012 at Death Valley

WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS SEASON

– Clemson seeking to become the first team in ACC history to win four consecutive ACC titles outright. (Note: Florida State earned at least a share of nine consecutive ACC titles from 1992-2000 but never earned more than three consecutive titles outright.)
– Clemson attempting to become only the second team ever to earn four consecutive College Football Playoff berths (Alabama, 2014-17).
– Clemson winning 10 games for a school-record eighth consecutive season. Clemson would match Miami (1985-92) and Virginia Tech (2004-11) for the
fourth-longest streak of 10-win seasons in FBS history.
– Clemson earning 12 victories to reach 100 wins in a single decade for the first time in school history. Entering 2018 with an 88-22 record this decade, the 2010s already representing the winningest decade in Clemson history, surpassing the 87-25-4 mark set in the 1980s.

HOME OPENERS

Even though 2018 represents the 123rd season of Clemson football, Clemson has had just 117 home openers in its history as a function of the five seasons in which Clemson did not play a game at home. In the 117 home openers, Clemson has a 92-17-8 record (.821) against 38 different opponents. Clemson has won 14 straight home openers with the last loss coming in Dabo
Swinney’s first year as an assistant coach, a 30-0 loss to Georgia in 2003.

SERIES HISTORY VS. FURMAN

The 2018 season opener will bring Clemson back to its very beginnings when the team plays host to Furman, the school against whom Clemson played its
first game in program history.

The teams met in Clemson’s football debut on Oct. 31, 1896, with Coach Walter Riggs’ Clemson squad collecting a 14-6 road victory in Greenville, S.C. The two teams did not meet again until 1902, a 28-0 Tiger victory. Clemson won the first seven games of the series between 1896 and 1918 before Furman broke the string when the two teams tied 7-7 in 1919.
Furman earned its first win in the series in Greenville in 1920 by a 14-0 score. The first game in the series at Clemson took place at Riggs Field in 1916, a 7-6 Tiger win and Clemson’s first win at Riggs Field.

CLEMSON UNDEFEATED VS. FCS TEAMS

Entering this week’s contest against Furman, Clemson is a perfect 32-0 against Football Championship Subdivision teams since the NCAA formed the division prior to the 1978 season (Southern Conference schools became I-AA in 1982.)

Clemson has outscored FCS teams by a 1315-218 margin all-time, an average victory margin of 34.3 points. Clemson has won 31 of the 32 games by double digits, including each of the last six by at least 34 points. The only exception came when Clemson defeated Wofford 35-27 in 2011. Wofford’s 27 points were the most by an FCS school against Clemson.

CLEMSON VS. SOUTHERN CONFERENCE

Clemson has not lost to a Southern Conference school since the Tigers left the Southern Conference to help form the ACC in 1953. Clemson has won 44 games in a row against Southern Conference teams. Clemson last lost to a Southern Conference team in 1952 when South Carolina defeated the Tigers, 6-0, when both schools were still Southern Conference members.  The last time Clemson lost to a team currently in the Southern Conference was 1936 when Furman defeated the Tigers, 12-0.

10-WIN SEASONS

Clemson enters 2018 with a streak of seven consecutive seasons of 10+ wins, tied for the sixthlongest streak in FBS history.

An eighth consecutive 10-win season in 2018 would tie the Tigers with the 1985-92 Miami Hurricanes and the 2004-11 Virginia Tech Hokies for the fourth-longest streak in FBS history.

SWINNEY FOURTH COACH TO REACH 100 WINS IN FIRST 10 YEARS

When Dabo Swinney and the Tigers defeated South Carolina, 34-10, in the final regular season game of 2017, it gave Swinney 100 wins in his first 10 years as a head coach. Swinney accomplished the feat despite his first season as a head coach being limited to seven games after assuming the Interim Head Coach title six games into the 2008 campaign.

He became just the fourth coach to reach 100 wins in his first 10 years, joining Bob Stoops, Chris Petersen and Urban Meyer.

TCI Predictions 

Robert – Clemson 72 Furman 3

Gavin – Clemson 56 Furman 10

Will – Clemson 45 Furman 0