Clemson is set to start the season Monday night in Atlanta as the No. 4 Tigers take on ACC nemesis Georgia Tech.
Dubbo Sweeney’s team is looking to bounce back after a 2021 season that saw the team finish 10-3, missing the College Football Playoffs for the first time since 2014, and ending their streak of seven consecutive ACC titles. .
5 things to watch out for
1. Quarterback: Clearly, this conversation about the Clemson football team has to include playing quarterback. There is no question that the quarterback has been working to get better since the end of last season. Now it’s time to see if all the work has paid off. As a freshman, Uiagalelei hit 70% of his passes. As a sophomore, only 56%. Which Uiagarelai can you meet on Monday night?
Then there’s freshman prodigy Cade Krabnik. After coming to Clemson as one of the top quarterbacks in the country, coaches raved about Clubnik. The staff have said he’s sure he’ll play next season, but he hasn’t said how soon he’ll do so, and a lot of that may depend on how Wiagalerei does it.
2. Line of Scrimmage: Something feels different about this Clemson offensive line. Aside from true freshman Blake Miller starting at RT, this group will start the season with much more experience than the previous season. What Miller lacks in experience, he makes up for in knowledge. This group should get off to a good start. Doing so will go a long way toward cultivating not only consistency on the offensive end of the ball, but two confidences that the Tigers sorely lacked before the season. I don’t know.
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Behind enemy lines: Georgia Tech’s yellow jacket
Clemson will be playing football for the 127th time in the school’s history on Labor Day, when the Tigers travel for a primetime ACC matchup against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, on Monday, September 5. Start the season with a grand fashion.
On the other side of the ball, the Tigers know what they have in store. He’s one of the best defensive lines in all of college football. Georgia Tech says he won’t be fielding one of the most experienced offensive lines the Tigers will see this season, so this is a fight Clemson should win, even without Thomas. .
3.WRUs: Standards are in place when it comes to receiver play at Clemson. Last season did not live up to that standard. Injuries devastated the group as the Tigers struggled to keep their players healthy. The inability to create drops and separations was also an issue at times before the season. This is a group of positions that need to be better. Additionally, they must be available. It’s certainly realistic to think that Clemson will rely heavily on their running game, but they’ll need wideouts at key points.
4. New faces in new locations: The Tigers will have two new coordinators at the start of the season. Longtime assistants Brent Venables and Tony Elliot are gone. Wes Goodwin and Brandon Streeter are currently playing those roles. We got our first taste of running their respective units in his Cheez-It Bowl win against Iowa State last year, but both spent the entire offseason fingerprinting themselves on offense and defense. . It will be interesting to see the tweaks made, especially on the attack side.
5. Play with chips: This Clemson team has something to prove. It’s clear when he listens to his players. Barrett Carter called Opener a “statement game”. Will Shipley said it was time to “notify the country.” Even Dabo Swinney mentions starting the season on Monday and ending it on Monday. This clearly suggests that his team is aiming for the national title.
The Tigers entered the stadium Monday night with chips firmly on their shoulders, hoping to prove last season was just a small setback and not a sign of what’s to come.
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