National outlet identifies Clemson’s biggest trap games
This national outlet sees a couple of road contests as potential trap games for Clemson in 2023.
Using its projected top 25 for 2023, Athlon Sports published a list of college football’s biggest trap games for College Football Playoff contenders this season.
Athlon noted that it isn’t projecting losses or upsets for the listed games, but rather “taking a look at which games could be more difficult than some might anticipate due to timing, schedule, road trip or other factors that might align leading up to the matchup.”
Clemson is ranked No. 12 in Athlon’s projected 2023 top 25, and the first game that Athlon pegged as a potential trap game for the Tigers is the Sept. 30 trip to Syracuse.
Clemson holds a 9-2 record in its all-time series with Syracuse, including a 9-1 mark under Dabo Swinney. However, since Clemson blanked Syracuse, 54-0, in 2016, four of the teams’ six most recent meetings have been decided by six or fewer points, including last year’s ACC title-winning team overcoming a 14-point deficit for a 27-21 victory.
“Clemson’s last two matchups against Syracuse have been decided by one score. Also, the timing (a week after taking on Florida State in a potential preview of the ACC Championship) isn’t ideal,” Athlon’s Steven Lassan wrote.
The other potential trap game for Clemson, according to Athlon, is the Oct. 28 date at NC State.
Last season, Clemson and NC State played the highest-ranked game in the teams’ 90-game series history, as the fifth-ranked Tigers topped the 10th-ranked Wolfpack, 30-20, at Death Valley. This year, the teams will meet in Raleigh, where the Tigers are 7-2 in their last nine games despite a double-overtime loss in their last visit in 2021.
“The Wolfpack knocked off Clemson the last time these teams played in Raleigh, so an upset here wouldn’t be a surprise,” Lassan wrote. “But like the Syracuse contest, the timing isn’t on coach Dabo Swinney’s side. NC State gets Clemson a week after a trip to Miami, followed by a date against Notre Dame on Nov. 4.”
Clemson will open the 2023 season on Labor Day when the Tigers travel to Durham to face Duke on Monday, Sept. 4. The game is set for 8 p.m. on ESPN.
We are excited to announce our second annual Dear Old Clemson event for the freshmen football class. Come out on July 22 at 10 AM at the indoor football facility for a meet and greet autograph session with the scholarship freshmen from the 2023 class. Clemson coordinators Garrett Riley and Wes Goodwin will be attendance and speak at the event.
Get your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.
