Swinney, Tigers Ready for a Special Week
After an offseason of unexpected twists and turns, Clemson will kick off the 125th season in program history on Saturday, Sept. 12, when the team faces the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Kickoff at Truist Field is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Even with a season that has been in jeopardy for a long time, that mission begins this week.
"You know, game week is is always special and, you know, to be honest with you, opening day is always special and that's really the mindset that our team has embraced this year is every day is opening day," head coach Dabo Swinney said. "Every day is opening day. And, you know, just trying to win the day one day at a time and you know this team has really embraced that and like I said every year.
"The opening week is special. There's so much to do and to get ready for that first game and to kind of get everybody in a rhythm for the season."
Clemson has won the opener in 10 of Swinney's 11 full seasons as Clemson's head coach, including each of the last five since 2015. This year marks Clemson's first time opening a season on the road since 2016, when second-ranked Clemson defeated Auburn, 19-13, at Jordan-Hare Stadium to kick off an eventual national championship campaign.
"It's really exciting to be at this point. So, you know, you know, see where we are, you know, so first game, obviously, it's an opener. Openers are always the toughest games, to me, just because you really, you have no tape, you're basing everything on last year," Swinney said. "Last year schemes last year's personnel. There's always new people that you have not seen any tape. You have more time to prepare for the first game than you do any other game. So to me, it's always the toughest game to get ready for."
Members of Clemson’s program wore shirts in camp bearing the term “2020 Vision” on the front (with the zeroes represented by All In chips) and “Double-Double Mission” on the back, signifying Clemson’s pursuit of a 10th straight 10-win season. With 10-plus wins this year, Clemson would join Florida State and Alabama as the only programs ever to accomplish the feat.
That journey starts Saturday night.
"We're excited about it then you're going on the road and going out to a place and wake up look at what they've done at home," Swinney said. "They've been a very tough team to be at home and, but the end of the day, just start somewhere, and we'll see where we are, and then see what we need to do to improve. So, it's just awesome that it's finally here, Wake Forest is a very well-coached team."
You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top righthand corner of the page.
