Clemson at Wake Forest: Five Things To Watch For In ACC Opener

With the Tigers opening the season on the road against Wake Forest this weekend, All Clemson takes a look at five things to watch for in the ACC opener for both teams.

If there is one team that Clemson has dominated in the Dabo Swinney era, it's Wake Forest. The Tigers are 11-0 against the Deamon Deacons under the guidance of Swinney and overall have won 18 of the last 21 meetings. 

Clemson heads into its primetime match-up in Winston-Salem as more than a 30-point favorite and is loaded with elite talent on both sides of the ball. Wake, on the other hand, comes in having to replace a ton of production on the offensive side of the ball. 

On paper, this one seems to be a mismatch, but the games aren't played on paper. Today All Clemson takes a look at five things to watch for in the Tiger season opener. 

1. No Fans: While Clemson may be allowing fans to attend on a limited basis this season, Wake Forest will begin the season with no fans in the stands. A Power-5 football game with no fans in attendance is going to take some getting used to. The ACC is allowing music and crowd noise to be artificially piped in, but there is just no way to replicate a stadium full of rowdy college football fans. Even one that sits just over 30K people, such as Truist Field in Winston-Salem.

2. Quarterback Battle: Obviously Trevor Lawrence is firmly entrenched as the Tigers starting quarterback. It is the backup job that is still up for grabs headed into week one. On the depth chart released by the school earlier this week, the coaches had "Taisun Phommachanh or D.J. Uiagalelei" listed as the backup to Lawrence. When the time comes, it will be interesting to see which of the two runs out there first.

3. Offensive Line: The Tigers are having to replace four of the five starters from last season's College Football Playoff team. However, four of the new starters have seen plenty of playing time and are battle-tested, which should make for a fairly smooth transition. That second group is where there could be some cause for concern. There is loads of talent but very little experience and until the coaches can build up some quality depth, the starters will likely have to be on the field longer than they have been in recent seasons. 

4. Braden Galloway: Clemson has gone three years without a tight end who could consistently stretch the field in the passing game, and Galloway is that guy. After missing all but the final two games of 2019 due to a suspension, the junior tight end is ready to show how much of an added asset he can be to this offense. Look for the team to get him involved early, whether he is lined up inside or stretched out wide. 

5. Who's In/Who's Out?: This is going to be a strange season. Due to safety protocols put in place due to COVID-19, fans could be left wondering who is available and who isn't. From one week to the next, it could be as late as kickoff before fans find out who can play and who can't. Clemson has done a superb job of handling the virus up to this point and hopefully, that is a trend that continues into and throughout the season. 

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