Clemson football schedule: The 1 potential trap game facing Tigers

The 2021 Clemson football schedule will be trickier than usual as the Tigers embark on life without Trevor Lawrence thanks to a worrisome trap game.

If Clemson football were ever in danger of taking a small step back, this is the year. There’s no Trevor Lawrence, no Travis Etienne, no Jackson Carman, no Amari Rodgers.

Dabo Swinney and quarterback DJ Uiagalelei have a tough task keeping the Tigers contending for a national title. That’ll remain the goal despite all the stars gone for the NFL.

Of course, every team on the schedule will be looking to get in the way.

Obviously, the season opener against Georgia and the big conference clash with Florida State stand out as tests. The annual rivalry game with South Carolina won’t be overlooked. But which matchup looks like an under-the-radar threat to Clemson?

Clemson football’s biggest trap game threat is a team that trapped them before

Pitt went 6-5 in 2020, so they’re not exactly a rival for the ACC title, but the Panthers are heading into their fifth year with Pat Narduzzi. They will have quarterback Kenny Pickett back for his extra season of eligibility.

Boston College gave the Tigers a scare in 2020, so they could also be a trap game option. However, the keyword here is “trap.” The context of the Pitt game creates a bigger problem around that game.

Clemson’s bye is on Oct. 9 after they face BC. They’ll come out of that with a road trip to Syracuse. After that, the Tigers will have to go on the road for a second week in a row to take on the Panthers on Oct. 23.

Back-to-back road games create a strain, one that could catch up to Clemson in Pittsburgh. We’ve been tripped up by Pitt before. We still can’t forget the 2016 game when they beat us on a Chris Blewitt field goal with six seconds left when we were ranked No. 2.

There’s letdown potential here too. The game against Florida State will loom the next week on Oct. 30. The Tigers don’t want to get caught looking ahead.

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