Category: College sports

Full 2024 ACC football schedule set for January 24 reveal

The ACC announced in an official press release on Friday that it would move up the full release of its 2024 football schedule to Wednesday, Jan. 24 in a special two-hour broadcast beginning at 5 p.m. EST on ACC Network and ESPN2. The two-hour …

The ACC announced in an official press release on Friday that it would move up the full release of its 2024 football schedule to Wednesday, Jan. 24 in a special two-hour broadcast beginning at 5 p.m. EST on ACC Network and ESPN2.

The two-hour special will be hosted by ACC Network’s Kelsey Riggs and features analysts like EJ Manuel, Eddie Royal, and Mark Richt. Week 1 of the ACC schedule will be revealed two days ahead of the planned ACC Network/ESPN2 special on Monday, with exclusive Thursday and Friday night games set to be announced the following day at 4 p.m. EST.

For the first time since 2014, the ACC will be welcoming new some new members. Cal, Stanford and SMU will officially join the conference this summer after seismic shifts in conference realignment.

With the additions of those schools, the ACC will feature a total of 68 conference matchups in 2024, up from 56. The two teams with the best conference records will again meet at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium in the ACC Championship Game on the first Saturday in December.

What We Already Know About Clemson’s 2024 Schedule

When the ACC announced its future scheduling plans back in October, they announced 16 protected matchups. One of those is Clemson vs. Florida State. The two teams will meet in Tallahassee later this year after the Seminoles snapped a seven-game losing streak against Clemson with a 31-24 overtime victory in Death Valley last year.

With the exception of the shortened 2020 season, Clemson and Florida State have met every year since the Seminoles joined the ACC in 1992.

Clemson is also scheduled for road trips to Wake Forest, Pitt, and Virginia Tech. Additionally, the Tigers will host Virginia, North Carolina State, Louisville, and for the first time in school history, Stanford. The Tigers and Cardinal have met only once before — the 1986 Gator Bowl, a 27-21 Clemson victory.

Also on the schedule in 2024 is the season-opening contest against Georgia in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It will be the fourth meeting between the Tigers and Bulldogs since 2013. Home games against Appalachian State and The Citadel are scheduled for Sept. 7 and Nov. 23, respectively.

The annual Palmetto Bowl showdown against South Carolina is scheduled for Nov. 30 at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium. The Tigers have won eight of the last nine meetings vs. the Gamecocks and lead the all-time series, 73-43-4.

Clemson Tigers vs. Florida State Seminoles: How to Watch/Stream/Listen

A look at how and where Clemson fans can stream Saturday’s ACC contest against Florida State.

Clemson is hoping to keep its once-promising basketball season from slipping any further. Since ACC play resumed at the start of January, the Tigers have dropped four of their first five contests in 2024.

The team’s next challenge, a road trip to Tallahassee to take on a streaking Florida State team, won’t make things any easier.

The Seminoles (11-6 overall, 5-1 conference) have won all five games against ACC competition since conference play resumed on Jan. 3.

Florida State beat Miami, 84-75, on the road Wednesday night to. further state its case as one of the ACC’s best teams. Heading into the weekend, only No. 4 North Carolina is ahead of the Seminoles in conference standings.

FSU forward-guard Jamir Watkins is atop the team’s leaderboard, averaging 13.1 points per game. Primo Spears and Cam Cohen, two reserves, each had 16 points off the bench in the Seminoles’ win at Miami.

Meanwhile, Clemson is headed in the opposite direction.

The Tigers (12-5 overall, 2-4 conference) suffered their worst loss of the season on Tuesday night when they coughed up a nine-point lead in the final 1:33 of regulation against Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets went on to win in double overtime.

PJ Hall had a career-high 31 points in the loss, three nights after he turned in 26 points in the Tigers’ win over Boston College.

Series Notes and Recent History

Florida State leads the all-time series, 46-35. The Tigers won both contests a year ago, 82-81, in Tallahassee and 94-54 at Littlejohn Coliseum.

How To Watch

Here’s a look at how and where Clemson fans can watch, listen, and stream Saturday’s game.

Date: Saturday, Jan. 20

Time: 4 p.m. EST

Where: Donald L. Tucker Center

TV Channel: ACC Network

Live Stream: ESPN+

Radio: Clemson Athletic Network | TuneIn App | SiriusXM (Channel 194)

Broadcast Teams

ACC Network: Mike Monaco, Randolph Childress

Clemson Radio Network: Don Munson, Tim Bourret

Clemson’s most watched games of 2023

A look at the two most-watched games of Clemson’s 2023 college football season.

College football is never in short supply of viewers. From opening weekend through bowl season and culminating with the College Football Playoff semifinals and national championship game, the bigger the game, the higher the rating.

The Rose Bowl semifinal matchup between No. 1 Michigan and No. 4 Alabama drew more ratings than the subsequent national championship bout between the Wolverines and No. 2 Washington. That’s not surprising, considering the name-brand status that Alabama and Michigan carry, to say nothing of the Rose Bowl setting itself.

Some recent data from Football Scoop’s Zach Barnett shines a light on the most-watched college football games of the 2023 season, including a pair that involved Clemson.

The Tigers had two appearances in a list of the 101 most-watched games of the 2023 season.

Not surprisingly, the Tigers’ 31-24 overtime loss to Florida State in week four (Sept. 23) was the school’s most-watched broadcast of the season, with an estimated 6.71 million viewers flocked to ESPN. Overall, it was the 32nd most-watched game of the season.

The Tigers’ other appearance in the top 100 was its Monday night loss to Duke on Labor Day weekend to open the season. Big underdogs entering the game, Duke surprised the college football world with a 28-7 upset.

Clemson vs. Duke placed 58th on the list of most-watched games for 2023, with an estimated 4.39 million viewers.

Florida State was the most watched of any ACC program in 2023. Eight of the Seminoles’ games placed in the top 100, tied with Washington.

Nebraska women’s basketball dominate Michigan in 62-43 victory

The Huskers move to 13-5 on the season and 5-2 in conference play.

The Huskers’ women’s basketball team returned home following a tough loss to Minnesota. Nebraska fell short of a comeback against the Golden Gophers and looked to correct the ship in its Wednesday night game against Michigan. The Huskers did just that, dominating the Wolverines en route to a 62-43 win.

Nebraska took control of the game from tipoff, wrapping up the first quarter up 17-8. The lead continued to grow throughout the game, ending with the 62-43 victory. Natalie Potts and Darian White led the way for the Huskers in scoring with both dropping 13 points on the night.

Potts’ put together another solid night in her freshman season, going four-of-six in total shooting, five-of-five in free throw shooting and hauling in 10 rebounds.

Kendall Moriarty joined in on the fun for Nebraska, scoring a career-high 11 points after going four-of-seven in total shooting. Alexis Markowski rounded out the team’s double-digit scorers, dropping 10 points.

The Huskers move to 13-5 on the season and 5-2 in conference play. The team will travel to Penn State for its next game on Sunday afternoon. Tipoff is set for noon and can be viewed on B1G+.

ACC asks court for injunction against Florida State

The ACC has asked a North Carolina court for an injunction against Florida State.

The ACC has asked a North Carolina court for an injunction against Florida State to ban the university from participating in all conference affairs due to the school’s ongoing attempt to withdraw from the league’s Grant of Rights agreement.

The move is the latest in what is shaping up to be a messy divorce between the ACC and Florida State, which joined the conference in 1991.

In new motions filed Wednesday, the ACC addended its lawsuit in a North Carolina court to ask for an injunction against Florida State, accusing the school of having “a direct and material conflict of interest” with the conference.

The league alleges that Florida State released confidential information (deemed “trade secrets”) between the conference and television partner ESPN when it held a public Board of Trustees meeting on December 22. Florida State filed legal actions against the ACC in Leon County, Florida that same day.

The ACC initially filed suit against Florida State on December 21. In doing so, the league asked a North Carolina court to proactively declare the ACC’s Grant of Rights clause a legally binding contract.

Florida State’s lawsuit seeks to challenge the validity of the Grant of Rights clause — and the $130 million “withdrawal fee” that would come from FSU leaving the conference before June 30, 2037, when the Grant of Rights is set to expire.

Florida State has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the ACC’s media rights deal in comparison to those of other conferences, namely the SEC and Big Ten, and has threatened on multiple occasions to leave the ACC.

Where Clemson ranks on list of College Football Playoff’s Top 40 teams

A look at where some of Clemson’s College Football Playoff teams ranked on a recent list of all 40 Playoff teams.

With the close of the four-team College Football Playoff era earlier this month, it’s worth noting that few programs had as good a run in the outgoing four-team Playoff format as Clemson enjoyed.

The Tigers appeared in a record six straight College Football Playoffs from 2015-2020, reaching the championship game four times and winning two national championships under coach Dabo Swinney.

Only Alabama had more Playoff appearances (eight overall) in the 10 seasons of the four-team Playoff than Clemson. Ohio State was third with five appearances.

CBS Sports recently ranked all 40 College Football Playoff participants from worst to first between 2014-2023.

Here’s where a few of Clemson’s teams appeared on the list.

Lowest Ranked: 2017 Clemson (lost CFP semifinal to Alabama)

Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be the first time the Tigers left New Orleans disappointed. The 2017 team fell, 24-6, in the Sugar Bowl. The Tigers were a year removed from Deshaun Watson’s heroics and a year away from those of Trevor Lawrence. Facing Kelly Bryant at quarterback, Alabama simply had its way with the Tigers’ offense for most of the night.

Best of the rest: 2019 Clemson (lost CFP national championship game to LSU)

It’s no wonder that this group was ranked the best team to not win the national championship. The Tigers won a thriller over Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl before falling to one of the best teams in modern college football history a week later in — where else? — New Orleans. The Tigers were 14-0 after the Fiesta Bowl victory and on a 29-game win streak.

Highest Ranked: 2018 Clemson (defeated Alabama in CFP national championship)

Not surprisingly, this squad was ranked the Tigers’ best team of the four-team Playoff era for their unblemished 15-0 record and sheer dominance of other teams en route to a crushing 44-16 win over Alabama in the national championship game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Trevor Lawrence became a star that year after some early-season growing pains. Clemson had only two close calls all season — both in the month of September with narrow victories over Texas A&M and Syracuse.

The Complete List: CBS Sports: Ranking all 40 College Football Playoff teams so far with expanded field following 2024 season

What Brad Brownell said after Clemson’s collapse to Georgia Tech

A look at what Brad Brownell said after Clemson’s double-overtime loss to Georgia Tech on Tuesday.

Clemson blew a nine-point lead with just over a minute and a half to play in regulation en route to a staggering 93-90 loss to Georgia Tech at Littlejohn Coliseum in double-overtime on Tuesday night.

The Tigers’ (12-5 overall, 2-4 conference) slide continued as the team fell for the fourth time in five games since the resumption of ACC play on Jan. 3.

Here’s what Clemson coach Brad Brownell had to say after the loss.

On his team’s 3-for-21 shooting from 3-point range:

“This is a kick in the gut. Both teams played extremely hard. Obviously we had a (lead) there at the end and couldn’t hold it. Some incredible shot-making by their guys late. We just had another day where we’re not making 3’s. I don’t know if it was fatigue or what-not, but when they make 15 and you only make three, that’s a 36-point difference. It’s hard to overcome that. This was hard. We’ve just got to hang in there and stick together. We’ve got a chance on Saturday to get a road win. Something we need.”

On Georgia Tech freshman Naithan George:

“He’s unbelievable. I said to our staff late in the first half that he thinks he’s the best player on the court, and he’s walking around like it.A couple of the shots he made at the end were amazing. He had the ball where he needed it and he was terrific. They have a very good, young team. Kowacie Reeves made some big shots for them. They didn’t miss a shot in the last two minutes of (regulation). They made like four or five 3’s. It’s disappointing. Our guys are hurting right now. I thought we did what we wanted to do for a long time and had a chance to get a win. We kind of let it slip away.”

On his team’s 22 offensive rebounds:

“I thought those were battles and I thought we had some advantages in there at times and really went at them. They were very aggressive. The sad part of that [the offensive rebounds] is there’s a lot of missed shots. We have to shoot a better percentage, and obviously we missed a couple of free throws that could have made the outcome a little different as well. A lot of times in basketball, it’s about timely shooting. Give Georgia Tech credit. They made some very timely shots tonight.”

UP NEXT: Clemson will travel to Tallahassee to face a streaking Florida State (10-3 overall, 4-1 conference) team that has won all four of its ACC contests since league play resumed earlier this month. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. EST Saturday. The game will be televised by ACC Network.

Where Clemson ranks in Joe Lunardi’s weekly Bracketology update

A look at where Clemson ranks in Joe Lunardi’s weekly Bracketology as of January 16.

Clemson’s three straight losses to Miami, No. 4 North Carolina, and Virginia Tech in ACC play dropped the Tigers out of the latest AP and USA TODAY Top 25 Coaches polls this week, as well as Joe Lunardi’s most recent Bracketology rankings released on Tuesday.

After being projected as high as a No. 2 seed (eighth overall) by the longtime bracket analyst just two weeks earlier, Clemson’s three losses have dropped the Tigers to a No. 5 seed in Lunardi’s projections.

In his latest update, Lunardi projects Clemson (12-5 overall, 2-4 conference) to face McNeese State from the Southland Conference. McNeese is Lunardi’s projected Southland Conference champion and thus would make the tournament as an automatic qualifier.

Other No. 5 seeds in Lunardi’s forecast are Alabama, Oklahoma, and Dayton. To no surprise, the ACC’s top-ranked teams in North Carolina and Duke are projected as two of the higher seeds — with the Tar Heels projected as a No. 1 seed in the South region (Dallas) and Duke as a No. 3 seed in the East region (Boston).

The Tigers lost, 65-55, to North Carolina at Littlejohn Coliseum on Jan. 6. They’ll travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium to face Duke near the end of the month on Jan. 27.  Clemson will then face a rematch with North Carolina on Tuesday, Feb. 6 in Chapel Hill.

Lunardi’s rankings award the most amount of tournament bids by conference to the SEC and Big 12 with eight apiece. The Big Ten is second with seven schools projected to make the field of 68. The ACC is tied with the Mountain West conference with a projected five bids, one spot behind the Big East’s six projected bids.

BREAKING: Ross Bjork leaves Texas A&M to become AD at The Ohio State University

According to The Eagle reporter Travis Brown, the Buckeyes athletic department has hired Aggies athletic director Ross Bjork as its next AD.

With the impending retirement of Gene Smith, The Ohio State University has hired a prominent name from Bryan-College Station as its next director of athletics.

According to Travis Brown, a reporter for The Eagle, the Buckeyes’ athletic department has hired Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork as its next AD.

“I have been extraordinarily fortunate to work with so many outstanding student-athletes, coaches, staff and university leaders throughout my career and Ohio State represents the culmination of these efforts,” Bjork stated in an Ohio State news release. “To be a part of Buckeye Nation, along with its storied traditions and long history of achievement, is a tremendous honor and a welcome challenge. I can’t wait to get started.”

Smith, the current Buckeyes senior vice president & Wolfe Foundation-endowed athletic director, will retire on June 30. ESPN college football senior writer Pete Thamel broke the news on Monday that Ohio State was zeroing in on Bjork as the successor to Smith and planned to finalize the move this week.

“Ross is uniquely equipped to step into our Buckeye community and make an immediate impact,” Smith stated. “As I have said, Ohio State has afforded me the professional opportunity of a lifetime and I am forever grateful. My final, important project over the next several months will be to work with Ross to ensure a smooth and effective transition with our student-athletes, coaches, department staff and university leaders.”

Bjork was hired as the Aggies’ 16th director of athletics on May 23, 2019. He came to College Station with over 20 years of experience in intercollegiate athletics. Since 1995, Bjork has had previous university stops at Tulsa, Western Illinois, Western Kentucky (twice), Missouri, Miami, UCLA and Ole Miss.

When Bjork was rehired by Western Kentucky in 2010 to serve as director of intercollegiate athletics at 38 years old, he was the youngest AD among the 120 FBS schools.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Shaun on Twitter: @Shaun_Holkko.

How to Watch/Stream/Listen: Clemson vs. Georgia Tech

A look at how Clemson fans can watch, stream, and listen to the Tigers’ game vs. Georgia Tech this week.

Clemson got a much-needed victory over Boston College on Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum to snap a three-game losing streak. Now, the Tigers are hoping to find some momentum with struggling Georgia Tech next on the schedule.

The Tigers (12-4 overall, 2-3 conference) will face a Georgia Tech team that has lost five consecutive games and is 0-4 since ACC play resumed on Jan. 3. The Yellow Jackets haven’t won since Dec. 23.

Not that Georgia Tech (8-8 overall, 1-4 conference) can’t be dangerous. On Dec. 2, the Yellow Jackets picked up a 72-68 upset win in Atlanta against a Duke team that had lost star Tyrese Proctor early in the game to an ankle injury.

More recently, they played the No. 7 Blue Devils to a dangerously close game over the weekend at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke didn’t put the game away until the final minute, and only after they had trailed by as many as 10 at one point in the second half.

Miles Kelly leads Georgia Tech with an average of 15.6 points per game. Freshman forward Baye Ndongo is second with 12.8 and averages almost nine rebounds a game (8.8).

For their part, Clemson can’t afford a letdown at home after taking advantage of a Boston College team that was missing one of its best players in Quinten Post. The Tigers’ three straight losses — all by double digits — kicked them out of both the AP and USA TODAY Coaches’ Top 25 polls this week.

Clemson coach Brad Brownell is hoping for another effort like the one he got Saturday from PJ Hall. The 6’10” senior had 26 points, three shy of his season high. Joe Girard added 26 as well.

Here’s a look at how and where Clemson fans can watch, listen, and stream Tuesday’s game.

How To Watch

Date: Tuesday, Jan. 16

Time: 9 p.m. EST

Where: Littlejohn Coliseum

TV Channel: ACC Network

Live Stream: ESPN+

Radio: Clemson Radio Network | Varsity App | SiriusXM

Broadcast Teams

ACC Network: TBA

Clemson Radio Network: Don Munson, Tim Bourret