The 2019 Clemson football season is less than a month away from kickoff. Here’s our rankings of each opponent by difficultly on the schedule.
The 2019 Clemson football season is finally upon us.
After much waiting, the Tigers have officially finished up summer workouts and are preparing for the upcoming season. We are just a few weeks out from seeing thousands of Clemson football fans pack Death Valley on a Thursday night to open up the season against Georgia Tech.
Tiger fans will now be finishing up their final summer vacations and getting prepared for football season, which means tailgating, reunions with friends & family members, as well as plenty of hours watching CFB each and every Saturday.
As we continue to prepare for the 2019 Clemson football season, here is our ranking for each opponent by difficulty on the schedule.
12. vs. Charlotte 49ers (Saturday, Sept. 21)
We begin our list with the No. 12 team on the schedule. The Tigers will host the Charlotte 49ers during the fourth week of the season.
Clemson will be coming off three games of national coverage- Georgia Tech, Texas A&M and Syracuse- and will be looking to pick up a win and develop depth during this one.
Expect to see a lot of Chase Brice and some of the freshmen that may not have garnered as much playing time at the beginning of the season in this one.
Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne, Justyn Ross, Tee Higgins and plenty of others will likely have a short afternoon, but this game will still be important for building depth that will pay off down the road should the Tigers get back to the CFB Playoff.
11. vs. Wofford Terriers (Saturday, November 2)
Coming in at No. 11 on our list is the Wofford Terriers.
The Tigers host Wofford at a strange time- at the beginning of November- this season. Typically, Clemson has an FCS or lower FBS team scheduled for the week before the South Carolina game, not right at the beginning of November.
This game will be an opportunity to continue to build depth and perhaps get a little rest before beginning the rest of the November stretch.
Wofford isn’t a team that’s going to go away lightly and they’ll likely put up a fight, but Clemson football just has too much talent and depth for this one to be a concern.
10. @ Louisville Cardinals (Saturday, October 19)
A few years ago, Louisville would’ve been one of the toughest games on the schedule. Making a trip up to Cardinal Stadium in the middle of October would be talked about as a real threat for the Tigers, but things just aren’t the same for Louisville as of late.
The Cardinals have fallen off immensely over the past couple of seasons after losing Lamar Jackson and, especially, that whole host of defensive talent that they possessed at one time.
Louisville went just 2-10, 0-8 in the ACC last season and even with a promising new coach in Scott Satterfield, don’t expect the Cardinals to present much of a challenge this time around.
9. @ North Carolina Tarheels (Saturday, September 28)
North Carolina’s program is certainly beginning to trend in the right direction. Since Mack Brown took over as the head coach, the Tarheels have been recruiting at a fairly high level and it seems that they may be looking to make a run at the ACC Coastal.
But, that’s still off in the future.
For now, North Carolina just doesn’t have much depth or talent on the roster. They went 2-9 last season and Brown will have a tough time turning things around immediately.
The Tarheels are still a couple of years off from being a relevant program again and this trip shouldn’t spell much trouble for the Tigers.
8. vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Thursday, August 29)
If you’re talking pure talent and skill, Georgia Tech would probably be behind North Carolina.
The Yellow Jackets are going to tons of trouble this season as they transition to a spread offense with option personnel. Though there is life breathed into the program, you can’t just change a player’s skillset overnight.
With that being said, the reason that this game is higher up on the list than a couple of the others is because of the fact that Georgia Tech has the element of surprise on its hands.
Clemson football doesn’t have any film to go on when preparing for the Yellow Jackets with this being the season-opener. The Yellow Jackets will likely have a few trips up their sleeve and that will at least present somewhat of a challenge to Clemson.
In the end, the talent of the depth chart wins out, but Georgia Tech could at least formulate a difficult game plan for the Tigers.
7. vs. Boston College Eagles (Saturday, October 26)
Boston College is one of the most unpredictable teams coming into this 2019 season.
The Eagles lose a lot of talent and experience off of their offensive line, but they return AJ Dillon at running back and Anthony Brown at quarterback. Defensively, Boston College will have to deal with some losses along the defensive line, but they still have talent on the unit as a whole.
Some believe the Eagles will take a step back from last year’s 7-5 season with just nine returning starters overall, but there’s also reason to think that they may remain the same or improve depending on Dillon’s health and Brown’s ability to pass the ball.
Boston College always presents a physical challenge, at the very least, and it should be interesting to see what the Eagles have developed into by the time October 26 rolls around.
6. vs. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (Saturday, November 16)
Wake Forest, in my opinion, is the most underrated team in the ACC.
The Demon Deacons are going to have one of the most prolific offenses in the conference with two really good quarterbacks in Sam Hartman and Jamie Newman.
Outside of Clemson and potentially Syracuse, Wake Forest may have the best offense in the conference and, in the day and age of CFB, if you can score, you can make an impact. With Dave Clawson as the head coach, Wake Forest is poised to win a lot of games.
The problem with the Demon Deacons is the fact that they don’t have much depth, they lose a historically great player in Greg Dortch and the defense is concerning. Wake Forest still could put up a bit of a fight, but the Tigers will prevail with more talent and a home field advantage.
5. vs. Florida State Seminoles (Saturday, October 12)
Honestly, I believe that Wake Forest will have a better record than Florida State this season, but that the Seminoles will present more of a challenge to the Tigers than the Demon Deacons.
Florida State has always recruited at a high level and the Seminoles do have depth that most other teams in the ACC don’t possess.
The problem with Florida State has been its atrocious offensive line. The Seminoles have been taken behind the woodshed on multiple occasions because of that offensive line and the unit doesn’t look as if it will improve this season.
Florida State does, however, have some talent at the skill positions that could set it apart and provide at least a small challenge to the Tigers early on.
4. @ NC State Wolfpack (Saturday, November 9)
It’s tough to know what to expect when speaking about the NC State Wolfpack. NC State loses QB Ryan Finley, as well as its biggest receiving option in Kelvin Harmon.
Despite the losses on offense, the Wolfpack returns eight starters on defense and should have a chip on their shoulder getting to host the Tigers later in the season.
NC State will likely have ‘spoiler’ on its mind and, in early November, the Wolfpack should have figured out their quarterback situation.
Clemson will get NC State’s best shot, but the Tigers still have more talent and depth than what the Wolfpack possess.
3. @ South Carolina Gamecocks (Saturday, November 14)
Clemson will have a challenge on its hands just getting on the field in this one. Williams-Brice is notoriously known for throwing bottles and trash at players once they exit the locker room.
By this point in the season, South Carolina will likely be playing for a bowl game and the Gamecocks will have been beaten down. That being said, this will be all that they play for.
South Carolina wants nothing more than to beat its rival and you better believe that no matter if they’re 2-9, 5-6 or 8-3 heading into the game, this will be the biggest game of the year for the Gamecocks.
Jake Bentley had the best game of his career last season against Clemson as the Tigers’ secondary allowed wide receivers to run wide open down the field. Clemson will be motivated, as well, and should take control early in front of a rowdy crowd.
2. @ Syracuse Orange (Saturday, September 14)
Syracuse lost Eric Dungey at quarterback and that’s a huge loss. Despite losing a historically great player, Dungey provided confidence in that offense unlike what many could do.
With him gone, the Orange will turn to Tommy DeVito, who had a decent year in limited playing time last season.
Syracuse has some talented options on offense and returns seven starters on defense. There’s actually belief that the Orange could have the best defensive line in the ACC, led by defensive ends Alton Robinson and Kendall Coleman.
Syracuse also has this game slated as its “Homecoming.” All of that combined will make for a decently tough first road test of the season.
As long as Trevor Lawrence remains healthy in this one, the Tigers still should get the job done up in the Carrier Dome.
1. vs. Texas A&M Aggies (Saturday, September 7)
Texas A&M, in my opinion, has a chance to be the second-best team in the SEC West division this upcoming season.
The Aggies will compete with LSU for that second spot behind Alabama. Jimbo Fisher has done a decent job continuing to recruit and develop players and it seems that Texas A&M is in position to make a run at being a top-10 team.
The Aggies return QB Kellen Mond, who had a stellar game against Clemson last season, and plenty of offensive talent around him to challenge that Tiger defense early in the season. Texas A&M will have to replace a ton of talent off of its defense this season, though, and it will be up to the Clemson football offense to take advantage of those mismatches and put up some points at home in Death Valley.
The combination of talent and the fact that this one is so early in the season is what makes it potentially the most dangerous game of the season.
Fortunately for the Tigers, though, they get it at home and will be better prepared for what to expect from this Texas A&M team a second time around now that they have a year’s worth of film on Jimbo Fisher’s offense.