Softer Start to 2022 Season Gives Clemson Chances to Build Confidence, Grow as Team

With Georgia Tech, Furman and Louisiana Tech up first, the Tigers should be 3-0 heading to Wake Forest on Sept. 24, but there is much to accomplish during this early stretch.

Jason Priester/All Clemson

What a difference a year makes. 

This time last college football season, Clemson was about to take on the Georgia Bulldogs, a team that would edge the Tigers 10-3 and go on to win the national championship with a 14-1 record. 

Clemson, meanwhile, lost confidence and didn't find its groove for much of the season after that defeat in Charlotte. The Tigers dropped two more games before Halloween, but they put together a six-game winning streak to end the campaign and finish 10-3. 

This team wants to get back to completing Dabo Swinney's five goals, which the Tigers fell short of last year when they didn't win the Atlantic Division or the ACC title. 

The process starts out a bit easier, though, in 2022. When Clemson takes the field Monday night at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, it'll be against a team from the Peach State that's coming off a three-win season. Georgia Tech is a 22-point underdog to the Tigers, who have won seven consecutive meetings in the annual ACC series.

This is, however, a Yellow Jackets team that nearly upset Clemson in Death Valley a year ago, losing 14-8, so Swinney's squad likely won't take them likely. 

But there are other challenges to managing the first three games, two of those non-conference matchups, of the season before key ACC showdowns loom with Wake Forest and NC State. The Tigers are going to have a fast turnaround following Monday night. 

The team won't get back until the early hours of Tuesday morning. Coaches will quickly shift gears into getting a game plan for the next opponent put together. Luckily for Clemson, the Sept. 10 home opener at 3:30 p.m. comes against FCS-foe Furman, a team the Tigers haven't lost to since 1936.

Still, four days to get ready for a football game will be the biggest obstacle. The Tigers enter Monday's game healthy. Everybody is expected to be available from a health standpoint except defensive end Xavier Thomas and receiver Adam Randall. 

That's promising for the weeks ahead, but the Tigers have to hope hard for injury luck against Georgia Tech with the quick turnaround. 

After Furman, Clemson gets back on a normal schedule and hosts Louisiana Tech on Sept. 17 at 8 p.m. It's another team that won just three games a year ago, and it replaced its coaching staff in the offseason. 

The schedule is incredibly manageable based on opponents, and the Tigers should be 3-0 heading to Winston-Salem, N.C., on Sept. 24, but there is much to accomplish during this early stretch:

• DJ Uiagalelei has earned the right to be the starting quarterback, according to Swinney, but the head coach acknowledges that now the third-year Tiger must be productive. Not facing a defense like Georgia should help build early-season confidence...at least in theory. Uiagalelei, the ACC's lowest-rated passer in 2021, has a lot to prove. He's got to bring up his accuracy, his touchdown-to-interception ratio and hit big plays down the field. Those three things were hard to come by a year ago. 
• The supporting cast, on paper, looks better around him, but the Tigers need to build up the offensive line in the first three weeks. Blake Miller is getting the start at right tackle as a true freshman, which moves last year's starter Walker Parks inside to guard. Will Putnam is playing center for the first time. There's a lot that has to jell, and that's just with the first team. Backups need to develop as well. 
• The receiving corps is desperate to get off to a good start and put last year's injury woes behind them. With these three opponents, there should be plays to be had in the open field. Building confidence and seeing some of last season's injury-riddled receivers on the field for consecutive weeks would bring reassurance to the once star-studded position. 
• If these areas fail to start well, there could be critical changes made at key positions. Freshman QB Cade Klubnik is going to play this season, and likely a decent amount in the first three games. He'll get his first taste of college football, and if he has success and Uiagalelei doesn't, a troubling storyline could emerge as heavy competition awaits. 
• Defensively, the Tigers are loaded with depth and talent, but there are still a few new players breaking in at important spots. The depth chart released for the GT game listed just three cornerbacks: Sheridan Jones, Nate Wiggins and Fred Davis II. There's likely still competition between freshmen Toriano Pride Jr. and Jeadyn Lukus that has to be decided on the field before a more distinct pecking order forms. 
• There are new coaches and different responsibilities for this year's staff to work out. Brandon Streeter moved up from passing game coordinator to offensive coordinator while Wes Goodwin went from off-field analyst to defensive coordinator.

The No. 4 Tigers have high expectations of reaching the College Football Playoff after last year's miss, so this is a good time to have a soft opening stretch to the season. 

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