Five most intriguing storylines for Clemson football heading into match-up with Wake Forest
The Clemson football team will open up the 2020 season on the road against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in a game that will be nationally-televised and featured as the ESPN College GameDay game of the week.
While there will be millions of eyes watching the broadcast, there won’t be any fans in the stands and Clemson football is currently considered a 33-point favorite.
As we continue to prepare for the start of the Tigers’ season, here are the five most intriguing storylines to watch as Clemson football clashes with Wake Forest Saturday evening.
5. Wake Forest hasn’t done much tackling this preseason
Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said he doesn’t regret it and won’t no matter the outcome Saturday, but he told the media that the Demon Deacons haven’t done much live tackling throughout preseason camp.
"“When we started camp Aug. 6 and the games got postponed, as the head coach I didn’t think it was right to have our players tackle and go to the ground where there is a higher risk of injury until I knew it was certain that we were going to play,” Clawson said via 247 Sports. “So we have tackled, but not nearly as much as we usually do. I have no regrets doing that, regardless of what happens on Saturday. I think it was the right thing to do. I didn’t want to put our players in unnecessary risk until I felt that we were playing. I felt like it got to about a 90 percent chance we were going to play and then at that point we had a scrimmage.”"
Wake Forest has worked on tackling and they’ve been physical, but they haven’t been put in too many live situations- with just one scrimmage total during preseason camp.
If you’ve played football, you understand that the first game of the season always yields some missed tackles and that may be especially amplified for Wake due to them not doing much live work during the preseason.
4. Which players aren’t available for the game?
Both Dabo Swinney and Dave Clawson have noted that they’re going to have players out due to positive tests and contact tracing. The question is how many and who.
Swinney told the media that he will share an availability report on Saturday and that the two teams will share with one another the information, as well. He said that Clemson has had four players test positive since early July and two that tested positive last week. At this point in the week, the Tigers have had no more positives.
Of course, stemming from those two positives could be several player due to contract-tracing and that’s the biggest question heading into this weekend. Who’s out? Who’s playing?
Will we see stars quarantining due to exposure? Will starters from either team be affected? Will the depth of a position be tested? These are all things that could occur this season and even in this season-opening contest.
3. How different does that Clemson offense look?
There have been plenty of takes pertaining to how the Clemson football offense will look this season.
Will the Tigers commit to more of a running game with a RB depth chart that is absolutely loaded? Will Clemson open up the middle of the field in the passing game with guys like Braden Galloway and Amari Rodgers as focal points?
Or will the offense look very similar to what we’ve continued to see in the past from the Tigers?
I think we see Clemson take a more focused approach to attack this season, but the scheme and intricacies of the offense itself likely won’t look all that much different.
2. The backup QB competition
We all know who the starter at quarterback is, but what about Trevor Lawrence‘s backup?
Swinney said earlier this week that Brandon Streeter had informed him of who the second-string QB would be if the Tigers got to that point in the game this weekend and we’re extremely intrigued to see if it’s Taisun Phommachanh or DJ Uiagalelei who runs out there first.
Phommachanh has a year of experience ahead of Uiagalelei, but the talented true-freshman has absolutely turned the heads of both coaches and players alike in camp.
1. Talented youngsters stepping into new roles
It’s not just about the star-studded freshmen like Bryan Bresee, Myles Murphy, Demarkcus Bowman and EJ Williams who will play snaps this season for Clemson.
We’re talking about talented players who are stepping into new roles.
What does Mike Jones Jr. look like? Can K.J. Henry become a dominant edge-rusher in his new starting role? What about Derion Kendrick as he is relied upon to become the No. 1 coverage option? And then there’s guys like Andrew Booth Jr., Lannden Zanders and Baylon Spector who are all stepping into new roles.
The entire starting offensive line with the exception of Jackson Carman is new, though they’ve had plenty of experience in the past. What about veteran Cornell Powell and his ability to make plays as a starter in this offense?
Clemson has a ton of players at almost every single position taking steps forward and taking on new roles. How will they perform? Which ones excel and which ones have work to do? That’s the biggest storyline heading into this game.