Clemson is the odds-on favorite this season to win the Atlantic Coast Conference by a significant margin.
The Tigers are -120 to return to tops in the league after falling off last year, going 10-3 and missing out on the conference title game and the College Football Playoffs for the first time since 2014.
Ready to rebound, Clemson’s regular-season win total for the 2022 season is set at 10.5, according to DraftKings. Odds the Tigers will win more than 10.5 games is set at +110, while the under is -130.
FrontPageBets takes a look at Clemson’s regular-season schedule with predictions and some key games that will determine if they can get to 11 victories.
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2022 overview
For Clemson, it all starts under center.
The question is, will quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei live up to the hype he had last year coming into the season? As the signal-caller who replaced former top NFL Draft pick Trevor Lawrence, Uiagalelei struggled with an average (by its standards) offensive performance last season, throwing more interceptions (10) than touchdown passes (9), while completing just 55% of his throws.
If Uiagalelei can’t make it happen, the Tigers have five-star, true freshman Cade Klubnik waiting in the wings.
Defensively, Clemson should be solid, returning a lot of key fixtures who finished last season No. 2 in scoring defense (14.9 points per game) and eighth in total defense (305.5 ypg).
The Tigers will have new coordinators on both sides of the ball, however. Brandon Streeter takes over on offense for former OC Tony Elliott, who left to become the head coach at Virginia. Wes Goodwin will have some big shoes to fill at defensive coordinator, replacing Brent Venables, who now is the head coach at Oklahoma.
Key games to determining O/U 10.5 victories: Wake Forest, N.C. State and South Carolina
At Wake Forest, Sept. 24
Even more so than the road trip to South Bend, Ind., to face Notre Dame in November, Clemson’s journey to face Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C., will be the biggest test in a young season.
Sure, Clemson opens the season in Atlanta against Georgia Tech on Sept. 5, but there might be more orange and purple-clad fans in Mercedes-Benz Stadium that the Ramblin’ Wreck will have, leaving the game at Wake as the Tigers’ first “true” road game.
Coming off an Atlantic Division title last year, the Demon Deacons have some key returners, including quarterback Sam Hartman, who set a Wake Forest single-season record for passing yards with 4,228. He is also the program’s all-time leader in touchdown passes with 72.
FrontPageBets looks at the Irish's schedule with predictions and some key games that will determine if they can exceed 8.5 victories.
Vs. North Carolina State, Oct. 1
A week after traveling to Wake Forest, Clemson returns to Death Valley to play what should be a very good N.C. State team.
The Wolfpack returns an ACC-leading 17 starters, including quarterback Devin Leary, who set a single-season N.C. State record with 35 touchdown passes last year.
It’s the first ACC home game for Clemson and the last home game before back-to-back weeks on the road to Boston College and Florida State, respectively.
Vs. South Carolina, Nov. 26
The thing about rivalry games is momentum.
The game against South Carolina is the third of three consecutive home games for Clemson to end the regular season. And if things go Clemson’s way during the season, which has some tough games on the road, the game against the Gamecocks could be the difference between 10 and 11 wins, putting the Tigers at the magic number.
Leaving little room for error, Clemson will have to contend with a South Carolina squad that will be better in Shane Beamer’s second year. That includes stopping former Oklahoma star quarterback Spencer Rattler, who is getting some preseason Heisman Trophy hype.
Can Clemson bounce back after a down year? How will the four programs with new coaches do? FrontPageBets breaks down the ACC contenders.
Clemson’s 2022 regular-season schedule breakdown
Sept. 5 at Georgia Tech (Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta): W
Sept. 10 vs. Furman: W
Sept. 17 vs. La. Tech: W
Sept. 24 at Wake Forest: W
Oct. 1 vs. N.C. State: L
Oct. 8 at Boston College: W
Oct. 15 at Florida State: W
Oct. 22 vs. Syracuse: W
Nov. 5 at Notre Dame: W
No. 12 vs. Louisville: W
Nov. 18 vs. Miami: W
Nov. 26 vs. South Carolina: L
Prediction: 10-2
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Conference realignment, NIL and scheduling format among storylines to watch during 2022 Big Ten Media Days
USC and UCLA join the mix
A year after Texas and Oklahoma stunned college athletics and shook up conference alignment once again after they announced they will soon leave the Big 12 and join the Southeastern Conference, USC and UCLA followed a similar path by announcing they’ll depart from the Pac-12 for the Big Ten in 2024 to create a superconference that spans coast to coast.
The decision sent shockwaves throughout the sports world and will likely cause yet another domino effect for years to come. It also made people question the current NCAA model of athletics.
The Big Ten might not be done, however. Warren will likely address the possibility of more schools joining the conference and the reason for adding two West Coast programs despite the majority of the Big Ten schools residing in the Midwest and Northeast.
College Football Players Association
Led by Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford, Big Ten players reportedly have had discussions with Warren about the changing landscape of college sports and how it impacts student-athletes. No Maryland players were part of those discussions, according to a team spokesperson.
Clifford released a statement Friday, saying, “In the last 90 days, the [College Football Players Association] presented interesting ideas to me and my teammates with the goal of joining their college football players association. However, at this time, I along with many players are committed to working at the campus and conference level to address complexities of collegiate athletics for student-athletes.”
The CFPA was founded in 2021 to make sure college football players are organized to have a collective voice in the decision-making within their sport. However, executive director Jason Stahl said the CFPA doesn’t classify itself as a union.
According to ESPN, Stahl spoke with Warren about having a representative on each campus who advocates for players during medical situations or other disputes, post-football health protections and players receiving a percentage of the media rights revenue.
Name, image and likeness — again
NIL was a major talking point during SEC media day last week. Alabama coach Nick Saban said he is for players creating value for themselves but thinks there should be guidelines to protect the competitive balance.
“The advent of collectives has created a way for third parties to make contributions to marketing organizations, who can create opportunities for players, which I think is a good thing,” he said. “When it’s used in recruiting and players start making choices based on promises made in name, image and likeness, I don’t think that’s a good thing. I think there needs to be transparency on how all that’s done. I think there needs to be some protection for players when it comes to people who represent them.”
Expect Big Ten coaches to answer questions regarding their school’s approach to NIL and how it has impacted college sports more than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court sided with college athletes in a decision that struck at the NCAA’s definition of amateurism.
Schedule format changes
According to the Athletic, Big Ten administrators have discussed dropping from nine conference games to eight beginning in 2023. They have also discussed the possibility of ending divisional play and instead schools would play three opponents annually and cycle through the other teams every other year or two.
In June, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced a new football schedule model starting in 2023. Under the new model, each team will play three primary opponents annually and face the other league teams twice during the four-year cycle, once at home and once on the road. It will also eliminate the Atlantic and Coastal divisions and all 14 schools will compete in one division.
Mike Szvetitz is the General Manager and Content Director for FrontPageBets.com. Szvetitz is a 22-year veteran reporter and editor, including serving 17 years as a sports editor in Florida, Alabama and Virginia, covering everything from preps to pros. His "View From The Lazy Boy" column won multiple state and national awards. He can be reached at mszvetitz@timesdispatch.com.
