CLEMSON, SC - OCTOBER 07: Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers walks the sidelines during the Tigers' game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Memorial Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images)Clemson has been a College Football Playoff regular under Dabo Swinney. It doesn’t look like that’s going to change in 2021.
The Tigers will enter the 2021 season ranked somewhere inside the top 10. Clemson is losing Trevor Lawrence to the NFL, along with several other key players, but the Tigers will have five-star D.J. Uiagalelei at quarterback and he’ll be surrounded by a lot of talent.
Clemson will also benefit from playing one of the most-favorable schedules in the country.
The Tigers open the season against Georgia in the non-conference. That will be a massive game against a top 10 team. However, Clemson can probably afford to lose that game, run the table in the ACC and make the College Football Playoff.
247Sports named Clemson’s 2021 schedule one of the most “favorable” in college football:
Games vs. potential Top 25 teams: 1
Grab the Sharpie and go ahead and mark Dabo Swinney’s team back in the College Football Playoff. With all 11 starters back defensively and a rising sophomore quarterback OC Tony Elliott and the rest of the staff feels confident in, the Tigers won’t suffer any drop-off thanks to a schedule free of landmines. Clemson’s toughest game comes in the opener vs. Georgia, a preseason Top 10 opponent most likely. Even with a loss, the Tigers will be favored by double digits in just about every other game prior to an ACC Championship appearance.
Here’s Clemson’s full opponents list for 2021 (dates to be determined):
- vs. Georgia
- vs. SC State
- vs. UConn
- at South Carolina
- vs. Boston College
- vs. Florida State
- vs. Georgia Tech
- vs. Wake Forest
- at Louisville
- at NC State
- at Pitt
- at Syracuse
