Winston-Salem, NC — It is Game Day in the triad where Clemson battles Wake Forest in an Atlantic Division showdown.
Clemson hopes to continue the march to the College Football Playoff.
Location: Truist Field
Kickoff: 12:00 PM
Television: ABC
Announcers: Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, Molly McGrath
2021 Record: Clemson 3-0, Wake Forest 3-0
ACC Record: Clemson 1-0, Wake Forest 0-0
Series History: Clemson lead the series 69-17-1
Last Meeting: Clemson won 48-7 on November 20, 2021
CLEMSON TO FACE WAKE FOREST IN WINSTON-SALEM ON SATURDAY
After a successful two-game homestand, the No. 5/5 Clemson Tigers will hit the road this week when the team travels to face the No. 21/16 Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Saturday, Sept. 24. Kickoff for the early contest at Truist Field is set for noon ET.
With Clemson earning its ninth consecutive victory last week and with Louisiana’s 15-game winning streak concluding by virtue of a defeat at Rice, the Tigers enter this week sporting the nation’s longest active winning
streak. A win Saturday would push Clemson’s streak to 10 games and would represent the Tigers’ 11th doubledigit winning streak in program history.
Saturday’s game will be one of only three between two teams ranked in this week’s AP Top 25. It will be only the third matchup between two ranked teams in the soon-to-be 88-game series history between Clemson and Wake Forest. Clemson won both of the previous AP Top 25 matchups between the two programs, with Frank Howard’s ranked Tigers topping Peahead Walker’s ranked Demon Deacons squads on the road in both 1948 and 1950.
Clemson has been ranked in the AP Top 25 in 29 previous matchups with Wake Forest, posting a 28-1 record in those games including wins in each of the last 28. Clemson is also 4-2 all-time against ranked Wake Forest teams, including last season when unranked Clemson earned a 48-27 win against a Demon Deacon team that entered the game ranked No. 13 in the AP Poll and No. 10 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS WEEK
– Clemson (nine) attempting to extend the nation’s longest active winning streak.
– Clemson attempting to post the 11th winning streak of 10 or more games in program history.
– Clemson attempting to improve to 70-17-1 all-time against Wake Forest. Wake Forest would be the second opponent against which Clemson has won 70 games all-time, including its 72 all-time wins against South Carolina.
– Clemson attempting to win its 14th consecutive game against Wake Forest, dating back to 2009. It would mark Clemson’s second 14-game winning streak in series history, trailing a 15-game streak from 1977-91. Clemson’s current 13-game winning streak against Wake Forest is the Tigers’ longest active winning streak against an ACC foe.
– Clemson attempting to defeat an ACC Atlantic Division opponent for the 43rd time in its last 45 opportunities. Those figures include games against
traditional Atlantic opponents in a divisionless season in 2020.
– Clemson attempting to improve to 32-4 in true road games since 2015.
– Clemson attempting to earn a seventh straight road victory against Wake Forest, dating to 2010. Clemson’s last loss in Winston-Salem came in 2008, leading to Dabo Swinney being named Clemson’s Interim Head Coach four days later.
– Clemson attempting to record a seven-game road winning streak against a single opponent for the sixth time in school history. It would match Clemson’s sevengame streak at South Carolina from 1934-40 for the fifthlongest road winning streak in school history..
– Clemson and Wake Forest meeting in a matchup of two AP-ranked teams for only the third time in series history. No. 10 Clemson defeated No. 19 Wake Forest, 21-14, in 1948, and No. 16 Clemson defeated No. 17 Wake Forest, 13-12, in 1950.
– Clemson attempting to improve to 29-1 all-time against Wake Forest in games in which the Tigers are ranked in the AP Top 25. Clemson’s only loss to Wake Forest while ranked was in 1945. Ranked Clemson teams have won 28 consecutive games against the Demon Deacons spanning the 1948-2020 seasons.
– Head Coach Dabo Swinney attempting to improve to 14-0 as a head coach against Wake Forest. Wake Forest is one of five ACC schools against which Swinney is undefeated as head coach, a list that also includes Duke (3-0), Louisville (7-0), Virginia (5-0) and Virginia Tech (6-0).
STREAKIN’ AGAINST THE DEACONS
Clemson enters this year’s game against Wake Forest in search of its 14th consecutive victory against the Demon Deacons. Clemson’s 13-game winning streak is its longest active winning streak against any FBS foe.
The Tigers have produced 10-game winning streaks against opponents eight times in school history. Wake Forest is the only opponent against whom Clemson has recorded multiple winning streaks of 10-plus games, posting a 15-game winning streak against the Demon Deacons from 1977-91 as well as a 10-game streak from 1940-50.
Clemson has recorded three winning streaks of 10 or more games against Wake Forest in comparison to a combined five 10-game streaks against all other opponents (Furman, Virginia, The Citadel, Presbyterian and Boston College).
TOMBSTONE OPPORTUNITY
To commemorate wins against ranked teams away from Death Valley, Clemson constructed a graveyard at the entrance to the Clemson practice fields near the Poe Indoor Facility and the Allen N. Reeves Football Complex.
At the time of its inception, the graveyard initially commemorated Top 20 road wins. It has since expanded to include any Top 25 win away from home. Under Dabo Swinney’s watch, the Tigers have added 24 tombstones to
the graveyard — including four during Clemson’s 2016 national championship campaign and another three during its 2018 national title run.
A win on Saturday would represent Clemson’s first tombstone victory since the 2020 ACC Championship Game against No. 2 Notre Dame in Charlotte.
TCI Predictions
Robert – Clemson 42, Wake Forest 24
Davis – Clemson 30, Wake Forest 20
Sam – Clemson 31, Wake Forest 23
