247Sports adjusts bowl projection for Clemson |
247Sports adjusted its early bowl projections,
upping the call for Clemson in one way.
The original bowl projection was a Clemson at-large bid in the Peach Bowl, with Florida State winning the ACC and going to the Orange Bowl. 247Sports' updated call has Clemson capturing the ACC crown but falling short of the Playoff, instead going back to the Orange. The projected matchup is a first with Penn State in quite a while. "Florida State seems to be the preseason frontrunner in the ACC this spring, which is more than enough bulletin board material for Dabo Swinney," said 247Sports' Brad Crawford. "The Tigers come off another conference championship under his guidance and now have a difference-maker at quarterback who develops under new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley. A lot has to go right for Clemson to get back to the New Year's Six in 2023, but this program's been too consistent to play second fiddle to the Seminoles right now. Penn State's two biggest games are Michigan and Ohio State. A split against that pair could get the Nittany Lions closer to the playoff." The Tigers and Nittany Lions have met once all-time, a 35-10 Clemson win in 1988. The updated 247Sports prediction for Florida State is the Gator Bowl. The Tigers were in the Orange Bowl last year, falling 31-14 to Tennessee. Clemson has not gone to the same bowl in back-to-back seasons since the 1996 and 1997 seasons with the Peach Bowl. The Tigers did happen play in New Orleans in back-to-back postseasons in the 2019-20 seasons after advancing to the national championship in the 2019 campaign and then participating in the Playoff Sugar Bowl in 2020. Clemson hasn't played in the Orange Bowl in consecutive seasons before, but it did play there every other season from the 2011 campaign through 2015. Swinney's Tigers rank 8th in ESPN's 2023 preseason FPI ranking (19.4 rating), which paces the ACC and has Clemson as at least a 4-point favorite over the Seminoles (15) on a neutral field.
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