2020 Football Preview – ACC – Tigers
Looking for 2020 Clemson Tigers predictions? The Tigers seek redemption after coming up short in their final test last season, the 42-25 loss to LSU in the National Championship game. The Tigers don’t have much to whine about – Coach Dabo Swinney’s juggernaut in the Palmetto State have won five consecutive ACC titles. With Heisman front-runner Trevor Lawrence back, as well as stud RB Travis Etienne and host of other sublime talents, Clemson is once again in the driver’s seat in its conference, and perhaps the entire nation.
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2020-21 College Football Preview – Clemson Tigers
Head Coach: Dabo Swinney
2019 Record: 14-1
CLemson Tigers Odds to win the 2020 FBS Championship: +225
Clemson Tigers Win Total Odds: 11.5
Clemson Tigers SEC Odds: -909
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2020 Clemson Tigers Preview
The Clemson Tigers hope the rich get richer in 2020, as they aim to make four national title games in five seasons.
Swinney is in the elite strata of college football coaches, as he’s built a program that stands with Alabama and Ohio State as a paragon of perennial dominance. An Atlantic Coast Conference title is an almost guaranteed sure thing, and the Tigers and their constant recruiting prowess are once again looking good to take home the whole enchilada.
Anything less than 12 wins would be a grave disappointment in this part of South Carolina.
In non-conference play, the Tigers have their usual in-state clash with the South Carolina Gamecocks, while they also draw Notre Dame, an intriguing match-up that they are still a touchdown favorite for. The Fighting Irish’s Heisman hopeful, senior QB Ian Book, will at least present a challenge to the Orange and Purple.
It’s not like Clemson is envious, with the Tigers’ QB situation. Lawrence is the de facto best field general in collegiate football, and it was a thrill on campus to see him return for 2020-21. The junior has compiled 6,945 passing yards and 66 TDs to just 12 interceptions in his two years on the Clemson campus. Barring something shocking and unforeseen, he’ll be a high first-rounder in next year’s NFL Draft.
2020 Clemson Tigers – Offensive Weapons
The Tigers also have Etienne on offense, the tailback who was good for 18 TDs and 8.0 yards per carry in 2019. These stars were good for an offensive unit that ranked in the Top 25 in passing yards, points for and rushing yards a season ago. Indeed, Clemson’s high-octane ground game led by Etienne, ranked 13th in the country.
Assisting Etienne in 2020 will be junior Lyn-J Dixon, who chipped in with six TDs and six yards per clip, and Lawrence is also a capable scrambler.
Aerially, Clemson will rely on lanky athlete Justyn Ross. The 6″4, 205-lb junior had 66 catches a year ago, and has found paydirt 17 times in the past two seasons. Last year’s leading receiver, Tee Higgins, has declared for the pro draft.
Something that has always been a calling card of Clemson football is defense, and this coming season should be no exception. 2019 leading tackler Isaiah Simmons is gone, but look for free safety Nolan Turner to take a big step forward. He made a huge play in the Fiesta Bowl, picking off Justin Fields to ice the win for the Tigers.
He’ll be a touchstone of Clemson’s ‘D’ in 2020. Defensive coordinator Brent Venables will also be looking for a broad step forward from DE Xavier Thomas, a former top five recruit who earned only two sacks a year ago. Thomas will be turned loose this season and coaches hope his innate ability pulls him into the limelight.
Finally on that side of the ball, look for the emergence of sophomore Lannden Zanders. The attrition of graduation and the draft should mean that Zanders is tipped for a starting gig in 2020, and he’s a well-regarded prospect with athleticism to burn.
True, there are draft defections for the Tigers – Simmons, WR Higgins and CB A.J. Terrell spring to mind – but Clemson has the depth and the recruiting acumen to weather the storm, especially in a relatively weak ACC. Etienne opting to return for his senior season was a huge coup for the Tigers’ starting unit. Him ‘wanting to improve his draft stock’ must have brought an ear-to-ear grin on Coach Swinney’s face.
With Lawrence’s live arm and a receiver corps that has speed to burn, Clemson’s deep passing attack will once again be lethal. The balance will be there, with the uber-talented Etienne and Dixon stewarding the run attack. Notably, Clemson must replace four starters on the offensive line. Left tackle Jackson Carman is the only returning starter on the O-line.
Despite being new starting faces, Clemson has some reliable veteran offensive linemen to plug into the breach. Guard Matt Bockhorst and center Cade Stewart have had plenty of spot duty over the past few years. They should be ready to blast open holes for Etienne and Co. Offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell is high on redshirt sophomore Jordan McFadden, who could have a bright future on this unit.
The Tigers latest recruiting class predictably ranks second in the nation; keep an eye especially on defensive gems like LB Trenton Simpson from Charlotte, NC, and DE Myles Murphy from nearby Powder Springs, GA. In California QB product D.J. Uiagalelei, Clemson has found both a promising one-day successor to Lawrence, and a challenge for those that stitch the uniforms.
2020 Clemson Tigers Predictions: Team Strengths: Offense, Secondary
With Lawrence, Etienne, Ross and confidence in the depth of the incoming offensive line, Clemson’s offense should once again be a scoring machine. It would surprise no one if Lawrence wins the Heisman this season, and Etienne likely joins Chuba Hubbard (a Canadian native, it’s worth noting) as one of the best RBs in college ball. If there’s a learning curve on the other side of the ball, the Tigers should be able to score their way out of problems early in the campaign.
Clemson will miss Terrell at corner, but other than that the secondary is looking slick, with speed and playmaking ability. Despite missing some of the main tacklers from the 2019 team, a roster with the talent of Clemson’s should be playing catch-up for very long.
2020 Clemson Tigers Predictions: Team Weaknesses: Special Teams, Complacency?
Last season’s starting kicker, B.T. Potter, has to get his act together after nailing only 61% of his field-goal attempts in 2019. This year will be his junior season, so he has time to turn things around, but he’ll likely face competition from Jonathan Weitz.
Punter Will Spiers isn’t a world-beater, but then his services also aren’t called upon very often. He’ll look to improve on an average that hovered around 42 yards per. At 6″5, 225 lbs, he has the size to smoke someone as ‘the last line of defense’ on the punt teams.
Lastly, Swinney’s guys would do well to remember the mantra ‘the wolf climbing the hill is hungrier than the wolf on top.’ Clemson has been good for a long time now, but Swinney and the coaching staff will hope that last season’s national title loss to QB superstar Joe Burrow and LSU will be enough to motivate the 2020 Clemson team to reach the summit once again.
With the closest competition in their conference being still up-and-coming Miami, Clemson should breeze through the Atlantic Coast Conference, en route to yet another National Championship semifinal. Once they get there, it could get interesting, as Alabama is still there, Ohio State looks formidable, and programs like Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Penn State are always lying in the reeds.
Clemson draws Notre Dame on the road, which should be a great game. They also travel to Tallahassee to take on traditional ACC power Florida State. Other than that, the Tigers should have things on auto-pilot during the regular season.
2020 Clemson Tigers Schedule
- 9/3 — at Georgia Tech
- 9/12 — vs. Louisville
- 9/19 — vs. Akron
- 9/26 — vs. Virginia
- 10/2 — at Boston College
- 10/10 — at Florida State
- 10/17 — vs. NC State
- 10/24 — vs. Syracuse
- 10/31 — OFF
- 11/7 — at Notre Dame
- 11/14 — vs. The Citadel
- 11/21 — at Wake Forest
- 11/28 — vs. South Carolina
2020 Clemson Tigers Prediction: 1st in the ACC Atlantic division & a 14-1 record (Bet Now at any of our Reviewed Online Sportsbooks!)
Clemson is once again among the class of NCAA college football, and their play and record should reflect as much.
Accordingly, I see Clemson mirroring last season’s record, with the Notre Dame match-up in South Bend being the only realistic scenario where I see the Tigers possibly hitting the rocks.
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