Clemson football is one of four teams with a double digit chance of going undefeated in 2022.
In most other recent years I would say a high percentage of Clemson football fans would be alright believing the Tigers would go undefeated, at least in the regular season.
That’s probably not the case heading into 2022, after what transpired last season as the Tigers sputtered on offense, struggling to score with an unimaginative and ineffective offense.
ESPNs Football Power Index doesn’t care about your feelings when figuring out who’s most likely to finish 2022 with an undefeated regular season.
"The four teams:Ohio State: 32.5 percent chanceGeorgia: 20.0 percent chanceAlabama: 16.4 percent chanceClemson: 15.0 percent chance"
For those keeping score at home, that 15% chance equals about 1 in every 6.667 seasons that Clemson walks through the coming season perfect – at least record wise.
Other projections by the system have the Tigers finishing 11.1 and 1.6 on the year (don’t ask me how), gives them 100% chance of hitting six wins, a 74.7% chance of winning the division, 58.7% chance of winning the conference, a 59% chance of making the playoff, a 25.9% chance of making it to the National Championship and an 11.1% chance of winning it all.
All in all, projections Clemson fans, or at least the vast majority of them, can live with given what we saw on the field last year.
I have to admit, when I look at the schedule it’s hard to imagine winning all 12. Perhaps last years struggle bus is too fresh in my mind.
Taken individually though, it’s doable. Not easy, but doable.
Could Clemson beat every team on their schedule? Yep. Will they? Almost assuredly not.
A quick start and no off weeks until the last week of October make going undefeated a little more difficult
Three games in 12 days to start the season isn’t too much of a worry given the competition in those three – Georgia Tech, Furman and Louisiana Tech – but before the Tigers get an off week they have five games after those first three including Wake Forest, an always physical N.C. State, Boston College, Florida State and Syracuse.
A week off in the final week of October will be greeted warmly before the Tigers head to Indiana to play Notre Dame before finishing up with Louisville, Miami and South Carolina.
Fifteen percent seems a bit high to me, if we’re putting a number to it. I’d likely have the odds in single digits, or even closer to five percent.
So many things have to go right for undefeated seasons to happen and so many things went wrong last season.
That said, until that first L goes on the record I’m a believer.