CLEMSON — It’s a good thing No. 25 Clemson is playing Charleston Southern on Saturday.
The Tigers will host the Buccaneers in their home opener at Memorial Stadium. It is the first time the two have met on the gridiron.
Clemson is coming off a 28-7 loss to now No. 21 Duke, a game in which the Tigers turned the football over three times and did not score a single point despite driving three straight second half possessions inside the Duke 10-yard line.
They also had two missed field goals, while the defense allowed the Blue Devils to score two fourth-quarter touchdowns to put the game away. In other words, Clemson has a lot of things to fix.
“We are excited about getting back in the Valley this week,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “We are excited about seeing the home crowd. Hopefully, we will have a great turn out.”
Clemson will also debut its brand Tiger Walk, which was built during the off-season.
“We want to invite all of our former football players. If they want to come back and be a part of that, we would love to have anybody out there and we look forward to seeing the fans,” Swinney said. “It is going to be a special moment. It is something we are really proud of, and we know it will be there for years and years to come.”
After Tiger Walk, Clemson will be playing a Buccaneers team that is coming off a close win over North Greenville last week.
“Guys have responded well this week. They are ready to go play again and apply the lessons learned from the first game,” Swinney said. “Let’s see if we can find a way to get on the right track this week.”
Charleston Southern (1-0) at No. 25 Clemson (0-1)
Kickoff: Saturday, Sept. 9 at 2:15 p.m. ET
Location: Memorial Stadium, Clemson, S.C.
TV: ACCN
Spread: No line
Over/Under: No Line
WHY CLEMSON WILL WIN
Clemson is an FBS team and Charleston Southern is from the FSC. The Tigers are 37-0 against FCS teams since the NCAA formed the division known previously as Division I-AA prior to the 1978 season. It’s also Clemson’s first home game of the season and the first time the Tigers have been back at Death Valley since losing to rival South Carolina last November.
WHY CHARLESTON SOUTHERN WILL WIN
They will not, but if some kind of miracle does happen, it will be because Clemson turned the football over 10 times inside its own 20-yard line or something to that effect. Last week, the Buccaneers needed a miracle to beat Division II North Greenville in Charleston.
OTHER STARS TO WATCH
Clemson running backs Will Shipley and Phil Mafah will have another big week, except this time they will both find the end zone. Quarterback Cade Klubnik puts up big numbers in this one, while Xavier Thomas and TJ Parker take care of business on defense.
THIS AND THAT
Charleston Southern is Clemson’s 108th different opponent in program history. Clemson is 65-38-4 all-time in its first meeting with its 107 existing opponents, including a 16-1 mark in first meetings since 2003. Clemson has won 18 of its last 20 games when making its all-time debut against a new opponent.
FINAL ANALYSIS
Clemson needs to come out and execute and start gaining some confidence on offense. It will particularly help Klubnik, who has struggled in his first two starts. It will be important for Dabo Swinney to keep his offensive starters in for as long as he can so they can build on their confidence. The defense should get a shutout, something that will go a long way for their confidence, too. Clemson has not shut out an opponent since beating South Carolina 30-0 at the end of the 2021 regular season.
PREDICTION
Clemson 59, Charleston Southern 0
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