Clemson Football: How would Tigers fare with an SEC schedule in 2020?

How would Clemson football fare with an SEC schedule in 2020?

It’s that portion of the preseason where we look at how the Clemson football team would fare if the Tigers were thrust into the Southeastern Conference.

Of course, this year is a little bit different.

Interestingly enough, Clemson and the SEC have actually been aligned together (though the SEC was scared to play in-state rivalry games) for the 2020 season in that both the ACC and SEC, as well as the Big 12, have made it their goal to play in the fall, despite pressure from the Big Ten and PAC-12 to cancel.

That being said, we here at Rubbing the Rock like to give you a little sense of normalcy- though we all know this season will be anything but normal- so we’re going to take a look at the ‘mighty SEC’ and see what would happen if the Tigers were given an SEC slate.

For this exercise, we took Clemson’s in-state rival, South Carolina, and assessed using the Gamecocks’ schedule.

Predicting the 2020 Clemson football record if the Tigers played in the SEC

• vs. Tennessee (W)
• @ Florida (W)
• @ Vanderbilt (W)
• vs. Auburn (W)
• @ LSU (0.5)
• vs. Texas A&M (W)
• @ Ole Miss (W)
• vs. Missouri (W)
• vs. Georgia (0.5)
• @ Kentucky (W)

On our 10-game schedule for this season, we have Clemson with eight wins and two halves. Some could argue that Florida on the road may should be considered a ‘half,’ but until the Gators prove to have any kind of true offensive firepower, we’re going to give the Tigers the benefit of the doubt.

Now, let’s talk about the two halves.

We’ve got LSU on the road and Georgia at home as ‘halves.’ Clemson would be the favorite in both of these games, but it would likely be by a touchdown or less. In the worst case scenario, I see the Tigers splitting those two and going 9-1 on the season with what some may consider one of the ‘toughest schedules’ in the country.

If Clemson went 9-1 with this schedule, they’d have the backing of the ‘SEC power’ and would easily be in shape to compete for the conference title and a spot in the CFB Playoff. Sounds pretty familiar.

The point is pretty simple. Put Clemson football in any conference you want and the Tigers are automatically one of the top teams in the conference and a major threat to any of the perennial powers.