Clemson football schedule: Predicting the Tigers first loss (if they don’t go undefeated)

The Clemson Tigers’ last season-opening loss was to Georgia in 2014, and with the Bulldogs on the schedule in Week 1, will we see history repeat itself?

Unless you have been sleeping under a rock, aside from Alabama, the Clemson Tigers have been one of the most dominant teams in college football since the beginning of the College Football Playoff era that began in 2014.

During that span, the Tigers have gone 89-10, won six straight ACC titles, and have a 6-4 record in the playoffs, making four national title games, and winning two of those games.

But what is next for the Tigers following the departure of some key players that include quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, and running back, Travis Etienne? Well, we know Clemson recruits well and while their replacements may not reach their level of greatness, they are the next best thing.

Quarterback, D.J. Uiagalelei, stepped in and stepped up in some big moments last year for the Tigers while Lawrence was sidelined due to COVID protocols, and showed that the offense will be just fine with him taking over as the starter.

Clemson’s 2021 schedule should be one that goes unblemished without any doubt following their season opener. But week one could be a completely different story. The Tigers’ last six season-opening opponents consisted of Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Furman, Kent State, Wofford and Auburn (2016), which is the only quality opponent on this list. But, before all of that, the Clemson Tigers opened up the 2014 season with a Week 1 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs.

The Clemson schedule opens with Georgia in a potential game of the year

History repeating itself is not all that uncommon on the surface of college football. And with the Georgia Bulldogs at the top of every Clemson Tigers’ fans’ wallpaper schedule, it is hard to overlook experiencing déjà vu.

And that is exactly what happens.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s see how big of a game this really is.

The opening week might be the best weekend of the entire season based on game quality. Ohio State and Minnesota kick the weekend off with an early Big Ten opener for both teams on Thursday, followed by an SEC/Pac-12 matchup on Friday between LSU and UCLA.

Then on Saturday, we will see two more Big Ten matchups, Indiana vs Iowa and Penn State vs Wisconsin, and an intriguing matchup between Alabama and Miami (FL) in the first of two Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games. Labor Day weekend is then capped off with a game on Sunday night between Notre Dame and Florida State, and a game on Monday, the second of the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games, that sees Louisville take on Ole Miss.

But the biggest game of them all takes place Saturday night between the Clemson Tigers and the Georgia Bulldogs. This will be a slugfest all game long as both teams come out in midseason form to start off the 2021 season. And despite a near-flawless game from Uiagalelei, the Tigers drop their first game of the season in as many games played. Bulldogs win 31-30.

But don’t worry Tiger fans. Clemson should win the remainder of their regular-season games, win the ACC once again, and make yet another appearance in the College Football Playoff.

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