Clemson football: Best, Worst case scenario projections for 2021 season

The 2021 Clemson football season is less than just a couple of months away from kickoff and Tiger fans are ready to get to the taste of defeat out of their mouth following a disappointing showing against Ohio State in the CFB Playoff semifinals in January.

Though the Tigers will be looking to replace two historically-great talents in Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne, there is a sense of hopefulness radiating from the Clemson football faithful that this could still be ‘the year’ that the Tigers bring home another National Championship.

After all, there’s plenty of returning experience on the defensive side of the ball- which might include Brent Venables’ deepest defensive line yet- and plenty of hyper-talented pieces on the offensive side of the ball, including former 5-star DJ Uiagalelei who is set to take over at quarterback.

The best and worst case scenario projections for the 2021 Clemson football season

College Football News recently projected Clemson’s entire 2021 schedule and gave the best & worst case scenarios for the Tigers as we look ahead to the fall.

The publication predicts a perfect 12-0 record for Clemson– which would be Dabo Swinney’s fourth perfect regular season if it were to happen- and has the Tigers winning the ACC.

As far as worst case scenario? College Football News could see a ‘disaster season’ where the Tigers finish 9-3.

"“Realistically, the worst case scenario is 10-2 with a loss to Georgia and one major slip-up along the way, but that’s a bit too aggressive. Maybe if injuries strike, or if Pitt has a big day from its pass rush at home, or thing could get dicey if Florida State or South Carolina rock in the right moment, but there’s no Notre Dame or North Carolina or Virginia Tech.”"

The publication states that if injuries occurred, we could see an absolute worst case scenario where the Tigers lose three games- the game against Georgia and then two ‘slip ups’ against ACC opponents, or potentially against South Carolina.

In my opinion, I tend to think worst case scenario for this team is still 10-2. Georgia presents a real threat in terms of talent and then you always could have a slip-up to the schedule. Of course, with the depth and unknowns at the quarterback position behind Uiagalelei, you can never say ‘never’ when talking about the absolutely doomsday possibilities.

Most likely? We’re talking about another 12-0 or 11-1 Clemson football season that features another trip to the CFB Playoff.