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Clemson will begin its 127th football season in school history on Labor Day in big fashion as they travel to the home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons for a prime-time ACC matchup against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Monday, Sept. 5.
For the Chick-fil-A kickoff game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Fort is set for 8 p.m. Clemson enters the 2022 campaign riding 11 consecutive 10-win seasons.
While the departure of two longtime coordinators for the head coaching position has been the focus of Clemson’s coaching staff changes, the stability of the Crimson roster has been notable since the start of the spring, with head coach Dabo Swinney praising his team’s loyalty, commitment and self-awareness during one of college football’s toughest transition seasons.
“We had 109 guys go in the spring; 109 guys are still here,” head coach Dabo Swinney said. “There’s not one left. There’s only four of the Power 65 teams that didn’t have anyone come out after the spring. It says a lot about what our players think of our coaches, but more so about their experience.” What they think and love about Clemson and their culture and each other.
Will Vandervert: Dabo Swinney was clear earlier this week when asked which team he was looking forward to seeing play on Labor Day night. Excited to see the offensive line. Last year, the Tigers’ offensive line was so disorganized that it played a role in why Clemson was so bad on offense last year. But freshman Blake Miller stepped in and took over at right tackle, establishing himself as a starter. That allowed Walker Parks to slot in at right guard, giving Clemson a veteran at a very serious position. Then there’s Will Putnam in the middle. He was moved from right guard to center in the spring, and he ran away with the job, again, giving the Tigers another veteran at the position of need. Jordan McFadden is solid at left tackle, and All-ACC candidate Marcus Tate is light years better than he was at this time last year. Add it all up and Clemson’s offensive line should be much better, which means the offense will be much better. I think the O-line will prove itself against Georgia Tech, allowing Will Shipley and Kobe Pace to have big nights. Tigers lose.
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Clemson 42, Georgia Tech 14
Brad Senkiw: Season openers are challenging to predict. College football doesn’t just get preseason games and two major head-to-head rivalries. Fighting can be a problem. Time can be wasted on destruction. Special teams may impact Game 1 more than anyone else. Things can get weird. All of that, in this case, may not apply to Clemson. The Tigers feel they have something to prove in front of a national audience on Monday night. Georgia Tech doesn’t have the size or depth to really challenge Clemson in the trenches, so as long as the Tigers come to play, they’ll be dominant up front. It might not be great for 60 minutes, but as long as Ugaelli can at least get the chains moving by making the right shots, the better team will win relatively. The defense will be salty and will make life difficult on GT Jeff Sims by putting him in the pocket.
Clemson 31, Georgia Tech 6
Jason Priest: Don’t expect a repeat of last season when Georgia Tech gave Clemson all it could handle. This Clemson team is very good on the defensive side of the ball and unlike last year, the offensive line is stable and, more importantly, healthy. The Tigers should own the line of scrimmage, and this team appears to be coming in with a chip on its shoulder, something to prove. The running game gets going early, the passing game is more than serviceable by DJ Yougalley, and the defense is completely dominant.
Clemson 34 Georgia Tech 6
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