As we head into the thick of the offseason, there’s plenty of time for conversation. What will be the toughest game on the 2019 Clemson football schedule?
The 2019 Clemson football team is a favorite to get back to the CFB Playoff and repeat as National Champions, and for good reason.
The Tigers return Heisman candidate QB Trevor Lawrence and ACC Player of the Year RB Travis Etienne. When you mix those two star-studded talents in the backfield with potentially the best duo of wide receivers in the nation in Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross, you’re spelling trouble for opposing defenses.
In addition to the stars, Clemson also will potentially have the best offensive line it has had in recent history and has a deep group of skill position guys hungry to make a name for themselves.
Defensively, the Tigers may struggle early on as they look to replace some historically great talent, especially on the defensive line. Though the defense isn’t expected to be on the same level as last year, the unit still has Brent Venables- the best Defensive Coordinator in the game- and a whole host of talented options to field a great product.
So, it brings up the question: What’s the toughest game on the 2019 Clemson football schedule?
We will have our rankings of the schedule, as we do annually, later this summer. It’s an intriguing question because the easy answer is Texas A&M. The Tigers will play the Aggies early in the season before everything is in midseason form, but the game will be at home.
Jimbo Fisher could present a challenge for Clemson because the defense will still be looking to fill its roles and offenses don’t typically jump out to hot starts.
After Texas A&M, I think the best options are probably @ NC State, @ Syracuse and potentially Boston College at home. South Carolina on the road to close the year could also prove a level of difficulty.
The truth is that Clemson is just better than every opponent on its schedule. The Tigers will struggle at times this season, but the early look at the schedule is pretty easy to figure out: Clemson should be 12-0. The Tigers are the most talented team in the country.
We’ll take a more in-depth look at this and each opponent on the schedule throughout the summer, but it certainly is an interesting question to ask here in the middle of May.