Clemson Football: 2017 season preview and predictions

Clemson, South Carolina is a fun place now, but on Saturdays in the fall, Dabo Swinney and Clemson football will be wearing the biggest target of them all.

The Clemson Tigers return back to the ACC, where they have won 35 out of a possible 40 conferences games. In that time they have won the Atlantic division three times and the conference each of the last two years. Since Dabo Swinney’s first full season as head coach, he has never had a losing conference record. His worst since was a 4-4 season in 2010, his season year as head coach.

The Tigers are feared outside of the conference too. In the last five season, the Tigers are 23-4 in games outside of the ACC. Out of the those 27 games, seven were in the top ten with a record of 5-2. In that same time span, Alabama has a 24-3 out of conference record. Six of those games were top ten and their record in those matchups were 4-2.

The 2017 Clemson Tigers will be expected to win the ACC and be in the National Championship picture. While winning the ACC should always be the goal in Clemson, the National Championship might be a stretch for this team. Disregarding talent, there just aren’t many repeat champions in modern college football history. This team has great talent and great coaching but will it have the luck? We’ll see in a few months.

Offense

On offense, they return four out of five offensive lineman. Just like many past Clemson offenses, they return a good bit of talented skilled players. Their wide receiver group will be led by returning starters Deon Cain, Ray-Ray McCloud and Hunter Renfrow. Clemson’s best bit to replace Mike Williams is using 6’5″ Diondre Overton. Overton saw limited minutes behind Williams but this year could be his year to break out. If it’s not Overton it could be Trevion Thompson. Both Overton and Thompson had good spring games and have seen playing time in the fall.

At a place called “WRU” finding talent at the wide receiver position should not be too hard for Dabo Swinney. Their backfield is led by C.J. Fuller and Tavien Feaster, the new version of Thunder and Lightning. Both backs averaged over 4.5 yards per carry in 2016. Skill positions are taken care of, but that still leaves one massive question.

Who wins the QB battle?

Who will Dabo pick? Will he pick junior Kelly Bryant or will it be freshman Hunter Johnson? Bryant should have a leg up on Johnson and it did show in the spring game. Neither were great, but Bryant was reportedly dealing with a torn tendon in his throwing picky. Johnson had some issues with the defensive line but the 24-yard ball he threw to Overton for a score was beautiful.

The job will come down to these two players, but on Week 1 Bryant will be the starting quarterback. He already has game experience and he more of dual-threat quarterback than Johnson. Deshaun Watson is gone, but his influence will be felt in the Tigers’ offense in 2017.

Defense

This Clemson defense over the last few seasons has been one of the more feared units in college football. Last year, the Tigers ranked in the top 25 in scoring, rushing, passing and total defense. They do lose great production from Ben Boulware, Jadar Johnson and Cordrea Tankersley. But the 2017 Clemson defense still has stars.

In the interior, the Tigers have a great pair of tackles in sophomore Dexter Lawrence and junior Christian Wilkins. Together Lawrence and Wilkins made 22 stops behind the line of scrimmage.

At the second level, Kendall Joseph will replace Ben Boulware in the middle. In terms of tackles, Joseph only had seven less than Boulware’s 131. Joseph definitely brings more athleticism at the position than Boulware. Hopefully for Clemson fans, he brings the same discipline as well. They’ll need it in the ACC.

More: Jimbo Fisher calls the ACC college football’s “premier conference”

In the secondary, Tigers return many players that hit the field in 2016. Ryan Carter and Van Smith will bring the veteran leadership for the defensive backs. Look out for sophomores Travyon Mullen and Tanner Muse to have break out years at the cornerback position. If they don’t the defense might take a step backward. There isn’t much room for error with the juggernaut that Florida State is building on offense.

2017 Clemson Schedule and Predictions

Looking at the 2017 Clemson Tiger schedule there are a bunch of opponents that should be ranked once they meet them. Auburn will be their first test of the season in Death Valley on September 9. The next Saturday, they play Lamar Jackson and the Louisville Cardinals. This top part of their schedule could be tricky with the trips to Louisville and Virginia Tech. If they lose one or both of those games, they could be out of the National Championship picture by late September.

The bottom part of the schedule is the best part of the season. The two biggest games of the seasons, home to Florida State and away to in-state foe South Carolina. That November 4 game against Florida State will be for ACC bragging rights. In two weeks, the South Carolina game will be for state bragging rights.

Next: 5 reasons why Clemson won't repeat in 2017

Prediction: 11-1, 7-1 ACC

The Clemson Tigers will face tough foes in and out of conference. Ultimately, they pull out wins against Louisville early in the season. They go up to Blacksburg and take a win from the Hokies. But the game that might slip away is the Florida State game. It’s a toss-up every year and this year Florida State has the better quarterback. From the past few years, that is what wins the game for either side. Oh yeah, and the Tigers come back angry. They’ll beat down the great men of The Citadel and go to Thanksgiving in Williams-Brice and get win number 69 in the Palmetto State Series.