What Would A 10-Game Schedule Look Like For Clemson, College Football In 2020?

If Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall's potential option of a 10-game, shortened college football season comes to fruition, Clemson would have to look at cutting games against Akron and The Citadel over Notre Dame and South Carolina.

Outside of spring football cancellations, no changes to the 2020 college football schedule have been officially been announced because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

That doesn't mean, however, there aren't discussions about what happens if the halt in sports collides with summer classes, workouts or fall camp, much less the actual start of the college football season. 

Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall met with reporters via a teleconference Thursday and offered one potential option that isn't appealing to coaches, players, administrators or fans: a shortened season. 

In terms of how schedule could be tailored for coming season, Mendenhall said 10-game schedule would be most ideal if games had to be eliminated, but no less than 8 conf. games. Said one alternative is to eliminate non-conf. slate (#UVa's season-opener is vs. Georgia in Atlanta)

— Norm Wood (@normwood) March 19, 2020

Week Zero of the 2020 season begins Aug. 29 with seven college football games, including Notre Dame vs. Navy in Dublin, Ireland. 

Clemson opens its campaign with an ACC game Sept. 3, a Thursday night on the road at Georgia Tech. 

If Mendenhall's proposal comes to fruition, which two non-conference games could Clemson eliminate?

The Tigers are scheduled to host Akron (Sept. 19), The Citadel (Nov. 14) and South Carolina (Nov. 28) with a trip to Notre Dame on Nov. 7.

No one can envision a world where the Tigers and Gamecocks don't play, and Clemson desperately needs the top-25 showdown against the Irish in South Bend, Indiana, to help its schedule strength. 

Akron would be an easy game to get out of; the Zips were winless in 2019 and among the worst teams in the country. 

Dropping The Citadel would be less than ideal. Clemson, like in-state rival South Carolina, has a long-standing relationship with smaller schools from the Palmetto State. The two Power 5 programs help fund the FCS opponents with big-money games. 

Mendenhall's other option, dropping the non-conference games altogether, isn't a pleasant thought either, but keeping the conference schedule intact is certainly the top priority.