Clemson added another ACC championship last season. However, this upcoming season might be the toughest that the Tigers have had in nearly a decade. After missing the college football playoff for the second consecutive season, the Tigers go back to the drawing board for the 2023 campaign. A lot of question marks have to be answered for this Clemson team to be worthy of another ACC championship. Here is the preview for the Tigers 2023 season.
Offense
The only thing I know about this Clemson offense is that their starting running back junior Will Shipley is an absolute stud. He rushed for 1,182 yards on 5.6 yards per carry to go along with 15 rushing touchdowns. With the inconsistent play at quarterback last season, Shipley was the spark plug that this team needed game after game to get the job done. Looking ahead, the biggest question will be who is going to be the starting quarterback for this team?
My thought process is that it has to be Cade Klubnik. Klubnik is entering his sophomore season, but there are a lot of question marks about him after his questionable play last year. He completed 61 percent of his passes in the ten games he appeared in but only threw for 697 passing yards and added 2 touchdowns to 3 interceptions. The Tigers offensive line was an issue at times, but they have four starters returning this season so there should be some confidence there at least.
Who’s Helping Klubnik?
Klubnik is in need of a No. 1 target. This receiving core might be the worst that Dabo and company have had in quite some time. The receiver with the most potential to step up and to be a factor for Clemson is sophomore Antonio Williams. Williams led the team in receptions last season as a freshman, which is a good feat, but he needs some help. The big name that needs to be healthy and have an impact is now junior wideout Beaux Collins. Injuries derailed him last year and it wasn’t too long ago that he was making an impact like he did his freshman season. If Collins and Williams can both take leaps forward this year, we might get a good campaign out of Klubnik.
Defense
This defense is going to be led by their two leaders at linebacker in Jeremiah Trotter Jr and Barrett Carter. Last year they struggled as they finished outside of the top two in defense for the first time in nine years. The leadership that they have on the defensive line this year that will help change things. However, I have too many questions about their defensive line and their secondary coming into this season. They struggled to stop the passing game last year and gave up a ton of big plays. Injuries killed their secondary last season, and now with Andrew Mukaba finally healthy, this defense is supposed to go back to being the fierce defensive unit we’ve seen for about a decade. If they get guys to step up in the secondary, this defense has a chance to be good again.
Win Total Bet
I am going to take the under 9.5 wins for their team total this season. This Tigers team has a lot of question marks coming into this season. One thing they have going for them is that all of their big games this season are at home (Florida State, Notre Dame, UNC). They play at Miami and at South Carolina as well, but I think their three toughest opponents are the ones that they get to play at home this year. Look for Clemson to beat the teams they are supposed to and struggle to get the job done against teams they have to compete with. I think they get to nine wins, but struggle to go above that.
Game Predictions
Win at Duke (1-0)
Win vs Charleston Southern (2-0)
Win vs Florida Atlantic (3-0)
Loss vs Florida State (3-1)
Win At Syracuse (4-1)
Win vs Wake Forest (5-1)
Loss At Miami (5-2)
Win vs NC State (6-2)
Loss vs Notre Dame (6-3)
Win vs Georgia Tech (7-3)
Win vs UNC (8-3)
Win vs South Carolina (9-3)