By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

2022 Record: 11-3 overall, 9-0 in ACC

Head Coach: Dabo Swinney, 16th year: 161-39

How far Clemson goes in 2023 will depend on the QB position.

Cade Klubnik is now the man. A former 5-star recruit is in the spotlight now. Klubnik does not have to be a superstar he just needs to be productive.

Let us be honest Clemson fans you have become spoiled with the QB position. Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence will not suit up for the Tigers ever again.

Klubnik cannot fold under the pressure of trying to live up to standards in the position that may never be met again at Clemson. He played well in the ACC Championship game last season with 280 yards passing and passed for over three hundred yards in an Orange Bowl loss to Tennessee but had some growing pains in that contest.

Can he lead Clemson back to the College Football playoffs? Clemson has missed the playoffs for the last two seasons. The expectations now at Clemson are playoffs of bust.

Will Shipley is a great all-purpose running back with 1,182 yards and 15 TDs in 2022. He also caught thirty-eight passes.

Clemson always has good WR talent and a solid physical offensive line. Swinney has recruited great over the years.

On defense the secondary must improve. What separates Clemson from the rest of the ACC is what they produce along the defensive line. The combination of Ruke Orhorhoro and Tyler Davis might be the best in the country at defensive tackle.

I am hearing a lot of talk about how FSU has surpassed Clemson in the ACC. Well talent-wise that is not the case. Clemson has talent all over this roster and are the kings of the ACC until someone knocks them off the mountain top.

Schedule and my predictions:

9-4 * at Duke: Conference game opener for the Tigers on the road at Duke. Not important because Clemson will handle Duke 38-13 to go 1-0 on the season.

9-9 Charleston Southern: Home opener and CSU will be nothing more than a sacrificial lamb here. Clemson 49-7. 2-0

9-16 Florida Atlantic: Another beatdown at home for the Tigers. 55-10 and 3-0 on the season.

9-23 * Florida State: Ok FSU here is your chance to be the new kings of the ACC. There will be mega hype surrounding this one.

FSU will claim that they are a 1990’s version of the Seminoles, but at the end of the day you will be standing there watching Clemson touch that rock and run down that hill and the realization will set in that you are not there yet. Clemson wins 24-17. 4-0 on the season. Memorial Stadium will be rocking.

9-30 * at Syracuse: Upset alert for the Tigers. Be careful here. Clemson 24-21. 5-0.

10-7 * Wake Forest: Wake should be a bowl team but that will not matter. Clemson 34-20. 6-0.

10-21 * at Miami (Fla.): Tigers enter the teeth of their schedule. Could they fall here?

The pundits will try to create a narrative by predicting it, but it will not happen. 27-17. 7-0.

10-28 * at NC State: This one has me worried if I am a Clemson fan. 17-14 win. 8-0.

11-4 Notre Dame: After what happened last year in South Bend this one is circled on the Clemson schedule. Clemson wins big 34-17. 9-0

11-11 * Georgia Tech: Jackets are still rebuilding. Clemson 35-13. 10-0.

11-18 * North Carolina: Carolina is horrible on defense. Clemson wins 48-35. 11-0.

11-25 at South Carolina: The Gamecocks now have confidence in this series. I am calling for the upset. South Carolina wins 21-17. Clemson finishes the regular season at 11-1. The loss will not affect Clemson’s playoff chances, as the Tigers win another ACC title the following week.

* – ACC regular-season game.

A 12-1 Clemson gets in the College Football Playoff as the ACC champion along with Georgia, Michigan, and Texas or USC.