Clemson’s 2022 football schedule was unveiled Monday, which includes a Labor Day matchup with Georgia Tech to get it started, three straight home games to end it and an open date before the Tigers’ highly anticipated trip to Notre Dame.

Which games will be the toughest for the Tigers in their quest to not only get back to the ACC championship game but also return to the College Football Playoff?

The Clemson Insider has ranked the most difficult games on the Tigers’ schedule based on the where each game is being played, the caliber of opponent and each team’s personnel as of early February.

Notre Dame

When: Saturday, Nov. 5

Where: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana

Why: The Fighting Irish have a new coach following Brian Kelly’s departure for LSU, though there’s some familiarity still in place with former defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman’s promotion. And Kelly didn’t exactly leave the cupboard bare. Notre Dame does have to find a new starting quarterback, but there’s still plenty of talent (including the entire starting offensive line) returning from a team that finished No. 5 in the College Football Playoff rankings this past season. When both teams made the playoff in 2020, Notre Dame beat Clemson at home in a double-overtime thriller. The Tigers will be looking to avenge that loss, but it won’t be easy in a game that could have playoff implications depending on the seasons these teams are having when they meet.

Wake Forest

When: Saturday, Sept. 24

Where: Truist Field, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Why: The Demon Deacons are the defending Atlantic Division champions and have quarterback Sam Hartman (and record-setting receiver A.T. Perry) back to lead what was one of the ACC’s most potent offenses this past season. Now Wake gets its shot at Clemson at home after the Tigers handled the Demon Deacons with ease a few months back at Memorial Stadium. Wake has questions on defense, but Clemson’s offense, particularly at quarterback, has its share, too. This starts a crucial stretch of division games for the Tigers, and it’s hard to envision this one not being more competitive this time around.

North Carolina State

When: Saturday, Oct. 1

Where: Memorial Stadium

Why: N.C. State handed Clemson one of its three losses this past season as part of its runner-up finish in the Atlantic Division, and the Wolfpack have some significant contributors returning from that team. None is more important than quarterback Devin O’Leary, who threw for four touchdowns in that overtime win. N.C. State is losing some key pieces, too, namely star offensive tackle Ikem Ekownu, leading receiver Emeka Emezie and leading rusher Zonovan Knight. But the Wolfpack should still a contender in the division, so getting this game at home, where Clemson has won 34 straight games, certainly helps the Tigers.

Miami

When: Saturday, Nov. 19

Where: Memorial Stadium

Why: Miami rotates back on Clemson’s schedule as a cross-divisional opponent at a time when the Hurricanes may be figuring some things out. They’ve also got a new coach in Mario Cristobal, who turned Oregon into one of the Pac-12’s top programs during his five-year tenure in Eugene and now takes over a Miami program that won five of its final six games this past season. The most significant development on the field was the emergence of Tyler Van Dyke, who stepped in for an injured D’Eriq King and became one of the ACC’s best quarterbacks in the second half of the season. Van Dyke, who threw for 2,194 yards, 20 touchdowns and just three interceptions in the last six games, should make Miami a contender in the Coastal Division this fall. This game could very well turn into a matchup of division title hopefuls come mid-November.

Florida State

When: Saturday, Oct. 15

Where: Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida

Why: Florida State has still yet to make a bowl game under Mike Norvell, but the Seminoles showed some progress in Year 2 of his tenure, increasing their win total by two. And FSU gave Clemson as much of a scare as anybody last season at Memorial Stadium before a late touchdown drive helped the Tigers escape. Now Clemson will make the trip to Tallahassee, which isn’t an easy place for anyone to play. The Tigers are just 2-4 in their last six games at Doak Campbell, though the two wins came in their most recent trips in 2016 and 2018. FSU has its quarterback back, too, in Jordan Travis, who completed nearly 64% of his passes and threw two scores against Clemson this past season.

Boston College

When: Saturday, Oct. 8

Where: Alumni Stadium, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

Why: To say Clemson has dominated this series in recent years would be an understatement. The Tigers have won 11 straight games over Boston College and 13 of 14 dating back to 2008. But the last two meetings, decided by a total of 12 points, haven’t been easy wins for Clemson, and Boston College gave the Tigers a scare last season without quarterback Phil Jurkovec, who’s returning for another season after an injury sidelined him for much of 2021. And that makes Boston College a major wild card in the Atlantic Division. Clemson still holds an overall talent advantage over the Eagles, but Jurkovec is a next-level signal caller. If the 6-foot-5, 225-pounder returns to his pre-injury form, this could be a tricky game for the Tigers on the road.

South Carolina

When: Saturday, Nov. 26

Where: Memorial Stadium

Why: This is another series Clemson has dominated of late with seven straight wins over its in-state rival. The Tigers most recently pitched a shutout on the Gamecocks’ home field. Yet South Carolina surpassed expectations in Year 1 under Shane Beamer, who got the Gamecocks to a bowl game following a 2-8 season in 2020. The optimism in Columbia has only grown with some of the talent Beamer has brought in this offseason, including transfer Spencer Rattler. The former Oklahoma quarterback was a first-team All-Big 12 selection in 2020 and a preseason Heisman Trophy favorite before getting benched in favor of Caleb Williams midway through this past season and ultimately transferring. If Rattler stays healthy and returns to some semblance of his 2020 form, this could turn out to be the most interesting Clemson-Carolina matchup in years. 

Georgia Tech 

When: Monday, Sept. 5

Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta

Why: The Geoff Collins era hasn’t gone well so far for Tech, which has yet to win more than three games each of the last three seasons. Losing star running back Jahmyr Gibbs (transfer to Alabama) doesn’t make things any easier heading into the fourth year of Collins’ tenure. But opening games on the road can always be tricky as teams try to work out the kinks. On paper, it’s a game Clemson should win rather comfortably, but if the quarterback play isn’t better, it could make for another interesting game against Tech, which gave Clemson all it wanted last season in a six-point loss.

Louisville

When: Saturday, Nov. 6

Where: Memorial Stadium

Why: Clemson has never lost to Louisville, which has yet to have a winning record under third-year coach Scott Satterfield. But like most teams on the Tigers’ schedule, Louisville is getting its quarterback back for another season, which, as Clemson found out last season, makes the Cardinals dangerous. Malik Cunningham passed for more than 2,700 yards and ran for more than 970 a season ago. Louisville’s dual-threat signal caller torched Clemson’s normally stout run defense for 134 rushing yards and two scores on the ground, most of that coming in the first three quarters before he was injured in a narrow victory for Clemson that required a late goal-line stand. If the Tigers weren’t playing this game at home, it might be higher on the list.

Syracuse

When: Saturday, Oct. 22

Where: Memorial Stadium

Why: Syracuse has its quarterback (Garrett Shrader) and the ACC’s leading rusher (Sean Tucker) returning next season, but there just isn’t much more there from a talent standpoint for a program that’s won just 11 games the last three seasons. And Shrader, who completed a league-low 52% of his passes last season, is primarily a runner in an offense that’s largely one-dimensional, which, as the Orange found out this past season, doesn’t really work against a defense as talented as Clemson’s. That will need to change under new offensive coordinator Robert Anae, who directed the conference’s top passing offense at Virginia last season, if Syracuse hopes to be more competitive this time around at Memorial Stadium, where the Orange have lost by an average of 23.5 points in their last four trips.

Louisiana Tech

When: Saturday, Sept. 17

Where: Memorial Stadium

Why: Louisiana Tech is starting over under first-year coach (and former Texas Texas offensive coordinator) Sonny Cumbie, so perhaps the Bulldogs will be better than some expect next season. But it’s been a major struggle the last two seasons in Conference USA for Tech, which won just three games this past season and is 8-14 in its last 22 games. The talent discrepancy between these two programs is a wide one.

Furman

When: Saturday, Sept. 10

Where: Memorial Stadium

Why: This is Dabo Swinney’s annual nod to an in-state opponent from the Football Championship Subdivision, which gets a sizable payday in exchange for the Tigers getting to name their score. If Clemson isn’t able to do that against the Paladins, who went 6-5 this past season, something went terribly wrong.