Crafting the perfect 10-game schedule for Clemson football
The 2020 Clemson football season is going to be more different than anything we’ve ever seen before.
The Tigers, who currently have 10 opponents on their schedule and room to add one more non-conference game, are in the midst of preparing for the upcoming season without a set schedule of dates at this point.
As we progress closer to the anticipated start of the Clemson football season, here’s a look at what a perfect 10-game schedule would look like for the Tigers, not including that non-conference tilt which is still to be determined at the time of this writing.
In this scenario, we have the ACC starting on Labor Day night and keeping a couple of league-wide byes in place to help offset potential postponements. Finally, the ACC Championship- in our scenario- is played Saturday, Dec. 19- the same day as the SEC and Pac-12 Championships.
September slate
- Monday, Sept. 7: @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- Saturday, Sept 19: **Unidentified Non-Conference Game**
- Saturday, Sept 26: vs. Syracuse Orange
You want to go ahead and get the non-conference game out of the way early. There is speculation Clemson football could choose between The Citadel and Akron, who are already on the schedule, but there is also talk about Coastal Carolina and N.C. State to fill that spot.
As far as other notes: Notre Dame-Clemson on Labor Day night. Who says no?
October slate
- Saturday, Oct. 3: @ Georgia Tech
- Week of Oct. 10: CONFERENCE-WIDE BYE WEEK
- Saturday, Oct. 17: vs. Miami
- Saturday, Oct. 24: vs. Boston College
- Saturday, Oct. 31: @ Florida State
This October slate of games includes away games against Georgia Tech and Florida State with home games against Miami and Boston College. You’ll see the first bye week before the Miami game.
November slate
- Saturday, Nov. 7: vs. Virginia
- Week of Nov. 14: CONFERENCE-WIDE BYE
- Saturday, Nov. 21: @ Virginia Tech
- Saturday, Nov. 28: vs. Pittsburgh
The November slate features three games- two at home and one on the road.
We’ve placed the bye week before the Virginia Tech game as a way to potentially give the Tigers an extra week to prepare for the Hokies, who may be the second-best team on the schedule.
If we don’t see the Tigers open up the season against Notre Dame, I’d really like to see Clemson-Notre Dame worked into that Thanksgiving weekend slot as a way to recoup a little of what we’re losing during Rivalry Weekend.
December slate
- Saturday, Dec. 5: @ Wake Forest
- Week of Dec. 12: CONFERENCE-WIDE BYE WEEK
- Saturday, Dec. 19: ACC Championship Game
The December slate includes just one final regular season game, which would be at Wake Forest. You have one final bye week before the conference championship game as a way for teams to make up any final games that need to be played and determine seeding if necessary.
The ACC Championship game, in our scenario, is pushed back until Dec. 19 and we’d see the CFB Playoff likely adjust accordingly to Power 5 conferences pushing their season back, as well.
What do you think, Clemson football fans? Comment below with what a perfect schedule would look like for you.