We are closing in on single-digit days before the start of the 2021 Clemson football season and it’s clear that there is a feeling of excitement surrounding the Tigers as they get ready to take the field again.
The last time we saw Clemson in a competitive matchup, it wasn’t pretty. The Tigers were beaten soundly by the Ohio State Buckeyes in the CFB Playoff semifinals and the team– in particularly the defense– has said they are using that loss as motivation heading into 2021.
As we continue to get ready for the upcoming season, here’s a look at our game-by-game predictions with scores for the Tigers in all 12 of their regular season matchups, beginning with the big one against the Georgia Bulldogs.
Game-by-game predictions for the 2021 Clemson football schedule
Sept. 4: vs. Georgia Bulldogs
This Clemson-Georgia game has been one of the most-hyped season-openers in the recent history of College Football and we’ve still got a couple more weeks before it gets here.
Things have been heating up all spring and summer between Tiger and Bulldog fans and the expectation is that we’re going to see a really good game in Charlotte when this one is played.
While it hasn’t been confirmed, several Georgia outlets are reporting that two starters– TE Darnell Washington and DB Tykee Smith– are likely to be out of the matchup with foot injuries.
There have also been several other Bulldogs banged up and TE/WR Arik Gilbert left camp several days ago due to ‘personal reasons’ and still hasn’t returned at the time of this writing. It’s unclear at this point what his status will be for the opener and even if he is available, there are questions as to how much he’ll be able to truly contribute after missing several practice sessions.
While we are high on Georgia’s talent and believe the Bulldogs could have a major advantage with their defensive line against Clemson’s interior offensive line, there is just some brewing turmoil coming out of that UGA camp that makes us believe the Tigers will have an edge.
This one will be close, but we like D.J. Uiagalelei better than J.T. Daniels and we like Dabo Swinney better than Kirby Smart. The result? Clemson comes out victorious in a thriller.
Scoring Prediction: Clemson 28, Georgia 24
Projected 2021 Record: 1-0