While Dabo Swinney’s team is right now locked on a high-octane 2026 war, the front office at Clemson is playing the long game. On Monday morning Clemson Athletics officially added the final piece to the Tigers' puzzle in their 2027 non-conference. They scheduled a November 7 match against Georgia State at Memorial Stadium.
The Panthers’ addition marks the end of an actual 2027 run balancing something "cupcake" on Saturday with games like that played by legitimate heavyweight power players.
The Sun Belt Connection.
The matchup remains part of an expansion underway in Clemson’s scheduling philosophy: a nutritious take on the Sun Belt. Following Troy in 2025 and Georgia Southern’s visit next September, Georgia State is on its way to making the conference’s most recent trek to Death Valley.
By inserting the Panthers into the November 7 window, Clemson is leaning into the "SEC-style" scheduling approach — putting a non-conference player deep in the heart of the ACC’s struggle. It’s a strategic move meant to provide the roster with a physical break before the traditional regular-season finale against South Carolina.
2027 Slate With Teeth.
Thanks to news from Georgia State, the 2027 non-conference schedule is now locked down, and it’s also under the auspices of a true storied figure. That would see Clemson open the home and home series a massive series with Notre Dame in 2027, greeting an opponent in Memorial Stadium that will certainly come with College Football Playoff implications—when the Fighting Irish play it out. That series is scheduled to last through 2037, which means the Tigers will have a season under their spotlight nationally.
Lastly coming to a close out 2027 non-con schedule is the annual FCS date with Wofford and, not least, the Palmetto Bowl against the Gamecocks, which will be held at Williams-Brice Stadium that year.
Looking Over the Horizon.
The Georgia State announcement is a single little ripple in what is becoming a sea of high-profile, upcoming matchups for the Tigers. Clemson fans have already several “circle the calendar” dates on the horizon:
2029-2030: Home-and-home blockbuster with the Georgia Bulldogs.
2034-2035: A cross-country showdown with Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma series comes with even more of a storied flavor; had everything continued going according to plan, it would include Dabo Swinney and his arch-defensive mastermind, Brent Venables, who would be pitted against one another on the defensive field.
For now, Georgia State is adding a step that is a good reminder that if the ACC landscape is changing quickly and the ACC has an agenda, Clemson is already set on creating a schedule that provides the kind of path to the postseason on top of the game planning options that can define the elite status of a program that has been built along those lines (which seems like a good start).