It's My Blog

OK everyone, I’m ready to make my season predictions for this year’s Clemson Tiger football team. This is a fun exercise but doesn’t really mean a whole lot on the grand scheme of things. I just like to record my thoughts at the beginning of the year so that I can look back and see how things turned out comparatively.

Anyhow, now that week one is under our belts, it is possible to make a somewhat educated guess as to how the rest of the season will go. We’re now in Coach Dabo Swinney’s second full year as head coach, and this is traditionally the year that a new coach surprises the rest of the conference. Dabo has had plenty of time to get his system in place, he’s got a solid OL and two great running backs, along with a great QB in Kyle Parker. He’s got a defense that is loaded with talent that should be able to keep opposing points off the board. That being said, here are my thoughts:

9/11/2010 – Presbyterian College – Clemson, SC – WIN

This is another warmup game so look for our team to run scripted plays and to work on our weaknesses. Also look for our fans to complain endlessly because the score isn’t 100-0 with the other team having -237 total yards.

9/18/2019 – Auburn – Auburn, AL – WIN

When it comes to Auburn, don’t believe the hype. Sure, they’re an SEC team, but they’ve been knocked off their pedestal and I don’t think they’ll win more than 6 games this year. They have a very athletic quarterback who is supposedly Mr. Football but from what I’ve seen he telegraphs passes and makes poor decisions. Yes, they have “SEC Speed” but guess what, so do we. Also, we have a defense that keeps their eyes on the QB and excels at interceptions, which should propel us to victory.

10/2/10 – Miami – Clemson, SC – LOSS

Miami has talent from top to bottom and their quarterback Jacory Harris is a junior this year so look for him to make less mistakes and finally put his talents on display. We may be able to pull off the upset because they are going to come to Death Valley but to me it seems unlikely. Our defense is going to have to get several key turnovers or we just aren’t going to win this one.

10/9/10 – North Carolina – Chapel Hill, NC – WIN

When the NCAA gets through with North Carolina, they’re going to be left with a freshman team. Clemson should beat the tar heels with ease.

10/16/10 – Maryland – Clemson, SC – WIN

What happened to this team? Easy win for Clemson in the Valley.

10/23/10 – Georgia Tech – Clemson, SC – LOSS

Nesbitt is making a Heisman run and Paul Johnson is the reigning ACC coach of the year. I believe this will be a close game because we will be able to score on the Yellow Jacket defense, but I think Paul Johnson will outcoach Dabo Swinney once more.

10/30/10 – Boston College – Chestnut Hill, MA – WIN

Although everyone will be pulling for BC this year because of their cancer surviving linebacker, they simply won’t be able to keep up with Ellington and Harper. This is probably going to be an ugly game but I say we’ll win it by at least 10.

11/6/10 – North Carolina State – Clemson, SC – WIN

The Textile Bowl used to be a gritty matchup between the Wolfpack and the Tigers, but now it’s just a distant memory. Clemson will roll over NC State.

11/13/10 – Florida State – Tallahassee, FL – WIN

Somehow, according to all the sports writers, this is supposed to be the year of the Ponder. Now that Jimbo Fischer has moved to “Official Head Coach” instead of just “Head Coach with the title of Assistant Head Coach” the Criminoles are supposed to somehow be a dominant force once again and will roll through the ACC. Not so fast my friends. McDaniel will get at least one interception as our defense picks apart Ponder’s passing game and hopefully, for his sake, Ponder will just let him run it on into the end zone this time. Should be a close game because it’s in Tallahassee, but Clemson wins.

11/20/10 – Wake Forest – Winston-Salem, NC – WIN

Wake Forest has slid back to their rightful position as ACC bottom dwellers, and we should have no problem skating right through Winston-Salem.

11/27/10 – South Carolina – Clemson, SC – WIN

It’s payback time. South Carolina is high on the hog right now with all the praise they are getting in the sports media, even though they are in the middle of an NCAA investigation for providing players with luxury hotel rooms. After getting beat up by the likes of Georgia, Florida, etc they are going to be fighting for bowl eligibility once again and hopefully this year they are DENIED in Death Valley. If the scandal doesn’t get him, the Tigers will, and this will be Steve Spurrier’s retirement year.

Conclusion – 10 and 2 – Return to ACC Championship

Yep, I actually think we will have that kind of year. I think it will be between Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech for our ACCCG opponent and I think it will be a heck of a game. Do I have anything concrete to back it up? Of course not, but who ever does? Regardless, this will be fun to watch, and I look forward to every minute of it.

I think Clemson fans should be pleased with Coach Dabo Swinney if we go 9-3 in the regular season or better, but if we go 8-4 or worse then I think something should be done from the personnel standpoint. Depending on this year’s performance, we may need to look into a new coordinator on whatever side of the ball that is lacking. I think we should be patient with Dabo but at the same time if we fall short of 8 wins and he doesn’t make any changes then I think he will have a hard time keeping his job. That being said, I truly do see us winning 10 games and I hope we have a great year and Dabo continues to be successful.