The 2023 college football season could be a special one for Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football program. Still, the Tigers must perform at a high level to reach their potential.
On defense, Clemson is always competitive, and this year’s defense right now looks like it will be better than it was in 2022. With the best linebacker duo in the country and an improved secondary, this unit should be strong and dangerous this season.
Most of the questions come on the offensive side of the ball, where Garrett Riley has taken over as offensive coordinator. Can he open up this Tigers’ offense and get the most out of starting quarterback Cade Klubnik?
Heading into the season, ESPN broke down the best and worse case for each top-25 team in 2023. Here is what the staff had to say about the Tigers.
Best case: We all know what Clemson is capable of when its offense is hitting just right, so it stands to reason that with a new offensive coordinator and better quarterback/receiver play, the Tigers will be back in the College Football Playoff. That should always be the highest ceiling for a program that reached that level six straight years from 2015 to 2020. There will be ample opportunities for the Tigers to prove themselves, with games against Florida State, Notre Dame and South Carolina among the biggest. That South Carolina game has taken on even greater meaning this season considering how that loss affected 2022. The defense should be outstanding with another strong front and the best linebacker duo in the nation in Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Barrett Carter. If Garrett Riley can get Cade Klubnik and company to produce the type of offensive numbers we are used to seeing out of Clemson, this will be a playoff team.
Worst case: This team has won at least 10 games for 12 straight years, so it is hard to imagine any floor that goes lower than 10 wins. But there is some degree of difficulty involved in this schedule, with road games against NC State (Clemson lost here in 2021) and South Carolina and home games against preseason-ranked Florida State, Notre Dame (Clemson lost at South Bend last year) and North Carolina. Clemson should still be favored to win all or nearly all these games. Still, there have been unexpected losses over the past two seasons, so it would no longer be a surprise if a low-floor season meant no playoff appearance. The more surprising low floor would be a nine-win season. Given the strength of the team returning, Clemson should win at least 10 games yet again. — Adelson
Andrea Adelson feels spot on with this assessment. This team has the talent and coaching staff to make a run at the playoff; they just need to put the pieces together.
On the other side of things, a non-double-digit win season is about as bad as it would get for the Tigers. It may sound crazy, but it is a reality.
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