Clemson Football: Game-by-game predictions for 2020

In what will be one of the most anticipated games of the 2020 season, Clemson will travel to South Bend to take on the Fighting Irish in a rematch of the 2018 playoff semifinal, which the Tigers won easily 30-3 on their way to winning the national championship.

The Fighting Irish are eager to win a big game, as they have not beaten a big-time opponent or won a highly-ranked matchup in a long time. They came close to going to Athens and beating the Bulldogs last year, but in recent games against Clemson and most memorably Miami in 2017, the Irish have not performed well when the lights are brightest.

There is a good chance that Notre Dame and Clemson will both be undefeated heading into this game. Notre Dame will have to get through a neutral site matchup against Wisconsin and their rivalry game against Stanford, but if the Fighting Irish can make it through those games, they should walk into their Nov. 7 game against Clemson unbeaten and have playoff aspirations.

I do think there is a component to this being the most talented team the Tigers will have played all year, which could lead to some early struggles and South Bend is a tough place to play. Look for Notre Dame to hang around early before Trevor Lawrence and the Tigers pull away.

Final Score: Clemson 35, Notre Dame 24 (9-0)

A week after their big clash with the Fighting Irish, Clemson will return to Death Valley for their easiest game of the year. Like I said previously with Akron, the big thing to take away from this game is Clemson making sure they come away from this game with no injuries.

Final Score: Clemson 52, The Citadel 0 (10-0, 7-0)