Clemson football: Bold predictions for the 2022 season

At least one opposing head coach will be fired after their game against Clemson

October 24, 2015. My wife’s cousin was getting married later that day, but I was able to sit in the hotel room and watch Clemson curb stomp the Miami Hurricanes in their own house 58-0. Clemson dominated from the start, and the game was out of hand by halftime. The next day, Miami fired their head coach, Al Golden.

Taking a look at Clemson’s 2022 schedule, I think this could happen again – I think an opposing head coach could be fired following their game with the Tigers. There are multiple candidates.

Geoff Collins starts the season on the hot seat, and has to open against Clemson on Labor Day Monday in Mercedes Benz Stadium. If the Clemson offense, which struggled to put up points last season, opens up with a big night against the Yellow Jackets, Collins might not even make it to Week 2.

The Tigers visit Doak Campbell Stadium in mid-October. Florida State is a proud program, and their fan base has struggled to stay optimistic with all the missteps taken by the university and the football program since their 2013 national championship. They are hopeful that 2022 is the year Coach Mike Norvell breaks through and the Seminoles return to contention in the ACC. The reality is that after FSU opens against an FCS opponent, they play LSU, Louisville, Boston College, Wake Forest and NC State before they play Clemson. If the Seminoles fare well against that schedule, they will be in good shape. If they start off under .500, and Clemson wins in The Doak, Florida State could pull the plug on Norvell.

Personally, I like Dino Babers, and apparently Coach Swinney is a fan too. Unfortunately, he only has one successful season in his tenure with the Orange, and like Collins, it was a bit of a surprise that he was retained for 2022. Syracuse has one of the best running backs in college football in Sean Tucker, but not a whole lot more to get excited about. The Orange’s schedule does include winnable games against Connecticut and an FCS opponent, but also Purdue, Virginia, Louisville and NC State. I think Syracuse respects Babers, but if they get off to a dreadful start, they could make a move at midseason so they can get a head start on hiring his successor. Clemson’s front line has the best chance of any team to contain Tucker, and if he can’t get things going against the Tigers, it could get ugly for Syracuse, and Babers could be let go.

Lastly, I’m just going to throw Scott Satterfield’s name out there. Most think the Cardinals will be a good team this year in the ACC, but if something goes seriously wrong for Louisville, Satterfield might find himself in trouble. He hasn’t always had a happy relationship with the fans. Let’s just say they drop their opener at Syracuse, or trip up against Jeff Scott’s South Florida squad, or look ahead to the Clemson game and stub their toe when they host James Madison. Or some combination of those with an overall poor record. It might not be likely, but it also wouldn’t shock me.