Preview and Prediction: SC State vs. Clemson
Clemson will return to Death Valley for its 2021 home opener on Saturday, Sept. 11 when the Tigers welcome the South Carolina State Bulldogs. Kickoff at Memorial Stadium is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET.
Swinney and his squad will look to rebound from a hard-fought 10-3 defeat at the hands of No. 5 Georgia in last week's season opener. Clemson's experienced defense kept the Tigers in the game, holding the Bulldogs to 256 total yards and only three offensive points. Seven years earlier, Clemson dropped a season opener at Georgia in 2014 in which the Tiger defense surrendered 459 yards, including 328 yards on the ground. Despite that performance, Clemson's 2014 defense would rebound to lead the nation in total defense that year, averaging only 260.8 yards per game.
South Carolina State enters the game following a tough loss of its own, dropping its opener at Alabama A&M, 42- 41. Clemson enters Saturday's cross-subdivision game 35-0 against Football Championship Subdivision teams since the NCAA formed the division prior to the 1978 season.
What to watch for:
-Clemson (28) winning a 29th straight home game to pull within one home win of recording the 24th home winning streak of 30 games or more in FBS history.
- Clemson attempting to improve to 27-7 in games following a loss under Dabo Swinney, including season openers following a loss in the previous season finale.
- Clemson attempting to improve to 24-1 in September games since 2015. Clemson and Alabama are currently tied for the best September record in that span at 23-1 each.
- Clemson attempting to improve to 68-4 in regular season play since the start of the 2015 season.
- Clemson attempting to win a 35th consecutive game against teams unranked in the AP Poll. Clemson's last defeat at the hands of an unranked squad came in 2017 at Syracuse. Clemson is 108-12 against APunranked teams under Dabo Swinney.
- Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei entering the game having thrown for 300 yards in two of his three career starts. He is already one of only 13 Clemson quarterbacks with a 300-yard passing game to their credit and one of only seven with multiple 300-yard passing games. Another 300-yard passing game would be his third and would bring him within one of tying his position coach — Passing Game Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Brandon Streeter (four) — for fifth-most in school history.
- Wide receiver Joseph Ngata (110 yards last week) attempting to become the first Clemson receiver with back-to-back 100-yard receiving games since Cornell Powell against Notre Dame and Pittsburgh in November 2020.
Preview:
Entering this week’s contest, Clemson is a perfect 35-0 against Football Championship Subdivision teams since the NCAA formed the division prior to the 1978 season (Southern Conference schools became I-AA in 1982.) Clemson has outscored FCS teams by a 1471-239 margin all-time, an average victory margin of 35.2 points. Clemson has won 34 of the 35 games by double digits, including each of the last nine by at least 34 points. Only one FCS squad has stayed within double digits of Clemson. Clemson defeated Wofford, 35-27, in 2011, with Wofford’s 27 points standing as the most by an FCS school against Clemson.
Prediction:
Brad Senkiw: Winning will be easily accomplished against S.C. State, so the primary goal should be for Clemson to look like Clemson again. The Tigers will run the ball better and protect D.J. Uiagalelei. Points will be plentiful, and Memorial Stadium's first full-capacity crowd since 2019 will go home happy.
Clemson 56-0
Jason Priester: Unfortunately for SC State, they just might be catching this Clemson team at the wrong time. The Tigers will use this opportunity to get right on offense and the defense will continue to be dominant.
Clemson 55-3
Zach Lentz: This week's Bulldog team catch an angry and hungry group of Tigers, and that spells bad news for S.C. State. The Tigers need to build continuity on offense, which they do, and the defense continues to dominate.
Clemson 52-3
