Clemson football: Favorable schedule can help Tigers get to third straight ACC title
The Clemson football team is set to face a handful of tough opponents in 2017, namely Florida State, Auburn and Louisville. Luckily, the Tigers will face majority of those teams at home, making the road to a 3rd straight ACC Championship mush easier.
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After taking a look at Clemson’s 2017 schedule, it is clear that the Tigers have a great shot at returning to the ACC championship. The biggest threats to Clemson in the Atlantic division are Florida State, Louisville and Wake Forest. The Tigers get two of those three at home this season.
The most important of these three contests is Florida State on November 11. The Atlantic division is usually decided between Clemson and Florida State and 2017 will be no different. Both the Seminoles and the Tigers bring back a wealth of talent on the defensive side of the ball, however, Florida State is much more experienced on offense.
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Louisville has Lamar Jackson and the Tigers will be playing the Cardinals on the road, which could spell trouble. I still think Clemson has a much better overall roster, but, Jackson has shown the ability to take a game over.
Outside of the ACC, Clemson will face Auburn in week 2. Auburn was able to play Clemson close on the plains last year and they look to be improved on the offensive side of the ball. Depending on the play of Jarrett Stidham, Auburn could pose serious problems for Clemson early on in the year.
Florida State and Auburn are Clemson’s stiffest competition in 2017 and the Tigers get both of them at home. As long as Dabo Swinney and his staff can manage the team through the rest of the schedule, Clemson has a great shot at running the table.
If Clemson is able to put up at least 28 points per game next season, they will contend for a third straight ACC Championship and possibly a third straight College Football Playoff appearance. Defense wins championships and Clemson may have its best yet under defensive coordinator, Brent Venables.
Next: Key to 2017 rests on replacing Wayne Gallman