Looking Ahead: 5 Biggest games for Clemson Football in 2020
Clemson is the early front-runner to return to the College Football Playoff again and will likely be favored in each contest through the regular season. But the Tigers know all too well their recent success has quickly transformed Clemson from the hunter into the hunted, drawing every team’s full attention on game day.
In many cases, it simply won’t be enough against a talented, experienced and well-coached Tiger team. But as history as shown, any team is susceptible to being knocked off by a less talented opponent on any given Saturday. Head coach Dabo Swinney has preached for years the next game is always the biggest one, but here are five games (in chronological order) that stick out the most on Clemson’s 2020 journey to a sixth straight CFP appearance.
Louisville
First year Cardinal head coach Scott Satterfield made the biggest turn around last season taking the Cardinals from 2-10 in 2018 to 8-5 and Music City Bowl Champions in 2019. With a full year under his belt, Louisville could be primed to take another step toward challenging Clemson in the Atlantic Division this fall.
The Cardinals were quite the productive group on offense last season averaging 33.1 points per game while accumulating an average just shy of 450 yards of total offense under the direction of Dwayne Ledford who also enters in second season in Louisville as the offensive coordinator. Redshirt junior quarterback Micale Cunningham and redshirt sophomore running back Javian Hawkins highlight the offensive returners while senior defensive linemen Jared Goldwire has garnered praised from Defensive Coordinator Bryan Brown. Goldwire will look to be the team’s leader on the defensive side of the football.
Clemson will host Louisville in the home opener on Saturday, Sept. 12 in Death Valley. The Cardinals will look to be far more competitive than in their last trip to Memorial Stadium which saw the Tigers jump ahead early en route to a humbling 77-16 landslide.
Virginia
While the ACC Coastal Division continues to play a game of “Not It” when it comes to who battles Clemson in Charlotte the first weekend in December, Virginia and North Carolina have taken strides toward becoming the team to beat in the Coastal. The Cavaliers were left licking their chops in the ACC Championship following a 62-17 thumping in the school’s first ever appearance in the ACC title game in December, but the overall outlook is trending in the right direction under fifth-year head coach Bronco Mendenhall. The UVA coach has endured a slower transformation than Satterfield going from 2-10 in 2016 to last year’s 9-win total. Last season’s 9-5 record gave UVA its first nine-win season since 2007 and punched a postseason ticket to South Beach for the Orange Bowl, where the Cavs fell short to Florida, 36-28.
Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, Virginia must replace dual-threat superstar Bryce Perkins who accounted for nearly 80 percent of the offensive production in 2019. Redshirt freshman Brennan Armstrong is the likely replacement for Perkins and will lean on Terrell Jana to lead a wide out core that has holes to fill this season after losing Hasise Dubois and Joe Reed to graduation. On the bright side, UVA catches the Tigers in a time frame where Clemson could still be working through some early-season kinks due a limited spring and what likely will be a severely altered summer and fall camp schedule. The 2019 ACC Championship rematch is set for Sept. 26 and serves as the appetizer for back-to-back divisional road trips to Boston College and Florida State Oct. 2 (Friday) and Oct. 10, respectively.
Florida State
Swinney and the Tigers will return to Tallahassee this season where there will be a new face on the opposing sideline in first-year FSU head coach Mike Norvell. While he inherits a program in distress, there is never a shortage of talent down in panhandle and this will be a game the Seminoles absolutely have circled on their calendar. Especially after 2018’s embarrassing 59-10 loss — the largest margin of defeat at home in program history. On paper, Clemson would still appear to be the clear favorite even on the road, but it’s worth keeping an eye on with a new sheriff in town.
The Seminoles return 17 starters from last year’s squad including 10 on the defensive side of the football. Norvell must come up with answers for an offensive line unit that struggled through the final stages of Jimbo Fisher’s career as well as Willie Taggert’s brief stint at the helm. Redshirt junior running back Khalan Labron looks to take over the workload Cam Akers leaves behind. James Blackman will remain the quarterback despite what’s been a rocky career thus far.
Clemson has taken control of this series as of late, winning the last five against the Seminoles. But make no mistake, this rivalry, which was once known as the Bowden Bowl, has become the premier matchup in the ACC over the course of the last decade. Since 2011, the winner of the Atlantic Coast heavyweight showdown has not only won the division but gone on to win the ACC Championship game as well.
Notre Dame
They always remember November and this game has the recipe for another top-15 showdown with a visit from the College Gameday Crew at all. We already know this one will be played under the lights of Notre Dame Stadium Saturday, Nov. 7.
It shapes up to be another intriguing duel between quarterbacks with junior Trevor Lawrence and senior Ian Book. Both teams will need to sure up the offensive line but the Fighting Irish have more glaring questions marks elsewhere offensively. Braden Lenzy, Kevin Austin and Lawrence Keys are names to remember in the passing game, but head coach Brian Kelly will again be tasked with replacing a star running back in Dexter Williams.
After suffering an embarrassing 30-3 rout in the 2018 Cotton Bowl — just three years removed from a heartbreaking 24-22 loss in what many have referred to as the “Hurricane Game” — the Fighting Irish would certainly like to deliver a little payback. This nonconference blockbuster showdown will come with serious college football playoff implications.
South Carolina
Clemson will seek is seventh straight win in the heated Palmetto Bowl series this November when the Gamecocks visit Death Valley. The Tigers could feasibly be double-digit favorites once the game rolls around, but anything can happen when it comes to rivalry games. Will Muschamp’s gang would love nothing more than to snap the steak and likely spoil Clemson’s potential sixth straight trip to the College Football Playoff.
The Gamecocks will have new leadership offensively with Mike Bobo taking over as the new offensive coordinator for Bryan McClendon who was demoted to Wide Receivers’ coach following a disappointing 2019 season. South Carolina will look to rally behind Ryan Hilinski with freshman Luke Doty assuming a potential backup role now that Jake Bentley will exercise his final season of eligibility at Utah.
True freshman MarShawn Lloyd will get his chance early in the Gamecock backfield with the departure of Rico Dowdle and former Clemson back Tavien Feaster. Shi Smith appears to be the only certainty in the receiving core. Defensively, highly touted NFL prospect Javon Kinlaw and D.J. Wonnum are gone but hope remains with sophomore Anderson, S.C. native Zacch Pickens upfront and Jaycee Horn, Jammie Robinson and Israel Mukuamu in the secondary which will be the most experienced unit on that side of the ball. Clemson welcomes the Gamecocks to town on Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 28.
