2019 Clemson football schedule released |
The reigning national champs start 2019 with a bang in a schedule that departs from the norm with the ACC debuting a TV network in August.
Clemson opens with three Power 5 opponents for the first time since 2005, hosting Georgia Tech to kickoff the ACC Network on Thursday, Aug. 29, then getting a couple extra days to prepare for Texas A&M the next Saturday (Sept. 7) and traveling Sept. 14 to face Dino Babers and a Syracuse team that’s given the Tigers fits the last two seasons (26-25 average score). Clemson faces its first Group of 5 team of the season on Sept. 21 at home with Charlotte before a first trip to North Carolina since the 2010 season. The Tar Heels hired former ESPN analyst and veteran coach Mack Brown in the offseason. Out of the Conference USA, Charlotte has gone 22-48 since restarting its football program in 2013 (5-7 last year). The middle of the slate brings more divisional action, hosting Florida State (Oct. 12) after a bye week, traveling to Louisville (Oct. 19) and returning home to face Boston College (Oct. 26). Clemson meets its one in-state FCS team on Nov. 2 with 2018 second-round playoff-participant Wofford. The Tiger wrap division action with a trip to NC State (Nov. 9) and then Senior Day versus Wake Forest (Nov. 16) before another bye week ahead of South Carolina. The Gamecocks also have an open date ahead of rivalry week. After dominating Alabama with a 44-16 win in the national championship, Clemson could very well enter 2019 as the preseason No. 1 for the first time in school history. Once the QB situation settled last season, Clemson averaged a 36-point average margin of victory, including two four-touchdown wins over two top-three ranked opponents in Notre Dame (30-3) and Alabama. Two of the tougher projected tests on the schedule come in those first three weeks, with Texas A&M (as high as No. 6) and Syracuse (15) in the top-15 of ‘Way Too Early’ rankings. In all, seven of Clemson's opponents made a bowl last season. Clemson is set to return up to eight starters on offense and four on defense - also bringing back eight reserves who were at or near a double-digit snap average on the defensive side as well. Aug. 29 GEORGIA TECH (Thursday) - ACC Network Sept. 7 TEXAS A&M Sept. 14 at Syracuse Sept. 21 CHARLOTTE Sept. 28 at North Carolina Oct. 12 FLORIDA STATE Oct. 19 at Louisville Oct. 26 BOSTON COLLEGE Nov. 2 WOFFORD Nov. 9 at NC State Nov. 16 WAKE FOREST Nov. 30 at South Carolina2019 Clemson football schedule
Clemson schedule notes
AUG. 29 (THURS.) • GEORGIA TECH • MEMORIAL STADIUM, CLEMSON, S.C.
Clemson’s season opener against Georgia Tech will mark the first Thursday night season opener Memorial Stadium history. The teams met in a 49-21 Clemson victory in Atlanta last season, as Clemson’s 49 points were the most scored by the school all-time at Grant Field in Atlanta since the field’s opening in 1913.
SEPT. 7 • TEXAS A&M • MEMORIAL STADIUM, CLEMSON, S.C.
The following week, Clemson will host another marquee matchup at Memorial Stadium, welcoming the Texas A&M Aggies. Last season, Clemson defeated Texas A&M, 28-26, at Kyle Field, in front of an announced crowd of 104,794 people, the largest crowd ever to witness a Clemson football game in person.
SEPT. 14 • AT SYRACUSE • CARRIER DOME, SYRACUSE, N.Y.
Clemson’s first road contest of the season will come in conference play when the Tigers face Syracuse. The Tigers defeated the Orange in memorable fashion in 2018, preserving Clemson’s chance at an undefeated season by engineering a 13-play, 94-yard touchdown drive to earn the come-from-behind win last September.
SEPT. 21 • CHARLOTTE • MEMORIAL STADIUM, CLEMSON, S.C.
Clemson will return to Memorial Stadium for a non-conference contest against Charlotte. It will be the first meeting between the two schools all-time. Including a win in the first all-time meeting between Clemson and Georgia Southern in 2018, Clemson holds a 62-38-4 all-time record when facing an opponent for the first time.
SEPT. 28 • AT NORTH CAROLINA • KENAN MEMORIAL STADIUM, CHAPEL HILL, N.C.
Clemson will face North Carolina in the Tigers’ first trip to Chapel Hill since 2010. The Tigers and Tar Heels have met three times since the teams’ last contest in Chapel Hill, with Clemson going 3-0 in those contests including home wins in 2011 and 2014 and an ACC Championship Game victory in Charlotte in 2015.
OCT. 12 • FLORIDA STATE • MEMORIAL STADIUM, CLEMSON, S.C.
Following an open date, the Tigers will return to action when they play host to the Florida State Seminoles. Clemson is currently riding a four-game winning streak against the Seminoles, holding the distinction as the only ACC program ever to defeat Florida State in four consecutive seasons. After losing its first seven home games in its series with Florida State, Clemson has since won seven of its last eight home contests against the Seminoles dating back to 2003.
OCT. 19 • AT LOUISVILLE • CARDINAL STADIUM, LOUISVILLE, KY.
The following week, Clemson will face the Louisville Cardinals on the road. Clemson is undefeated against Louisville, having pushed its all-time record in the series to 5-0 with a 77-16 victory at Memorial Stadium in Clemson last season.
OCT. 26 • BOSTON COLLEGE • MEMORIAL STADIUM, CLEMSON, S.C.
Clemson will return home for the first leg of its second two-game homestand of the season when the team faces Boston College. Last season, Clemson defeated Boston College, 27-7, in prime time to secure the team’s fourth consecutive ACC Atlantic Division title.
NOV. 2 • WOFFORD • MEMORIAL STADIUM, CLEMSON, S.C.
Clemson will conclude the homestand against Wofford in the first weekend of November. The game represents a renewal of a series that dates back to 1896, when the first team in Clemson history, coached by Walter Riggs, earned a 16-0 victory against Wofford.
NOV. 9 • AT NC STATE • CARTER-FINLEY STADIUM, RALEIGH, N.C.
Clemson’s final ACC road game will be against the NC State Wolfpack. The teams met at Memorial Stadium in Clemson in 2018 in a battle of Top 25 teams, in which Clemson earned a decisive 41-7 victory. The 34-point margin of victory was Clemson’s second-largest in the 87-game all-time series between the two programs and tied for Clemson’s second-largest margin of victory against a ranked opponent all-time.
NOV. 16 • WAKE FOREST • MEMORIAL STADIUM, CLEMSON, S.C.
Clemson will conclude its home slate against Wake Forest. The Tigers’ historic offensive attack was on full display in the teams’ 2018 meeting, as Clemson averaged 10.0 yards per play and recorded a then-school-record 11.8 yards per carry in a 63-3 win to post the largest margin of victory in conference play in school history.
NOV. 30 • AT SOUTH CAROLINA • WILLIAMS-BRICE STADIUM, COLUMBIA, S.C.
Following a second open date, the Tigers’ will conclude regular season play on the road on Saturday, Nov. 30, against South Carolina. Clemson is currently in the midst of a five-game winning streak in the series. A win this season would pull Clemson within one win of the longest winning streak by either team in the rivalry (seven by Clemson from 1934-40).
* Clemson enters the season with an active winning streak against every team on its schedule with exception of Charlotte, against whom the Tigers have never played. Clemson has active winning streaks against Georgia Tech (four), Texas A&M (two), Syracuse (one), North Carolina (three), Florida State (four), Louisville (five), Boston College (eight), Wofford (five), NC State (seven), Wake Forest (10) and South Carolina (five).
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