2010 Clemson Tigers Football Preview

2009 Results: 9-5, Won Music City Bowl vs. Kentucky

Head Coach: Dabo Swinney (3rd year @ Clemson, 13-8 Overall)

Home Venue: Clemson Memorial Stadium (81,473), Clemson, South Carolina

Since expansion, no ACC team has failed to live up to expectations more frequently than the Clemson Tigers. Under former coach Tommy Bowden, multiple excellent teams imploded against weak opponents and broke their passionate fans’ hearts. However, all of that changed in 2009, as the Tigers finally broke through and won the Atlantic Division. Behind the elite play of tailback C.J. Spiller, the Tigers had the 2nd highest scoring offense in the conference and won their first division championship. Unfortunately, they fell short in a hard-fought ACC Championship showdown against Georgia Tech and their BCS Bowl hopes were dashed.

There will certainly be a lot of new faces this season for Clemson, though the most damaging departure didn’t actually happen: Sophomore quarterback Kyle Parker turned down a multi-million dollar offer from the Colorado Rockies to quit football and focus on his baseball career, giving the Tigers another season, at least, from their signal caller. With Parker as the new focus of the offense this season, can the Tigers repeat as Atlantic Division Champions?

OFFENSE

Spiller was truly an elite superstar during his Clemson career. He was an All-American last season as he finished his tenure as the ACC’s all-time leader in all-purpose yards after he rang up 1,700 yards of offense and 21 touchdowns, five of which were kick returns!

With his departure, there is a huge hole at running back. But even with the loss of the 1st running back taken in the NFL draft, I think that the Tigers will be more than capable of fielding a great running game. That’s because sophomore Andre Ellington (491 yards, 4 TDs) and junior Jamie Harper (418 yards, 4 TDs) were very impressive in limited action last season and I think that they will prove to be one of the ACC’s best tandems this fall.

The offensive line is also going to be a major reason that I think CU is going to be powerful on the ground. The O-Line returns four starters from last season’s strong unit and senior left tackle Chris Hairston was a 2nd Team All-ACC choice. This group paved the way for the league’s 3rd ranked rushing attack and the only team that allowed fewer sacks was Georgia Tech, who attempted more than 200 fewer passes last year. This is one of the best offensive lines in the entire country and will give Ellington and Harper a ton of room to run.

At quarterback, the aforementioned Kyle Parker (2,526 yards, 20 TDs, 12 INT) was very effective in his first season as the starter and the Tigers avoided having to hit the reset button at the position when he chose to come back for another campaign. After all, his backups have never thrown a pass in college football. I expect Parker to be 100% focused on Clemson this season and the only man to hit 20 home runs and throw for 20 touchdown passes in the same season in NCAA history will be one of the league’s best quarterbacks.

The real worry for Clemson is at wide receiver, where there is virtually no returning experience. Senior Xavier Dye (14 catches, 236 yards, 3 TDs) is the most productive returner from last year’s squad and this is a player who actually was off of the team at one point last season! The Tigers are going to have to rely on a plethora of highly talented but unproven freshmen and sophomores if they are going to field a decent set of wideouts. However, one of the brightest spots in the spring was the play of sophomore tight end DeWayne Allen, who impressed with a big day in the Spring Game. I think he might turn out to be one of the top pass catchers on the team this year.

Overall, there is still a lot to like about the Clemson offense. While they will definitely miss C.J. Spiller, especially in the return game, the Tigers still have two great tailbacks that are going to be very effective running the ball. Furthermore, their fantastic O-Line will open up plenty of holes for those two to run through and Parker will have a ton of time to throw. While I’m worried that it will take a little while for the passing game to find a rhythm with so many young receivers, I’m very confident that Clemson will field one of the ACC’s top offenses this season.

DEFENSE

Where there should be significantly less consternation for Clemson fans is on the defensive side of the football, where a ton of talent returns. The Tigers finished 4th in the conference in scoring defense while tying for the league lead in sacks. The great news is that the vast majority of their key contributors return this fall, including three players who recorded 100 tackles last year: Can CU continue their defensive excellence in 2010?

Everything begins up front for this defense with their loaded D-Line. The defensive tackles are extremely impressive as senior Jarvis Jenkins (69 tackles, 1 sack) and junior Brandon Thompson (50 tackles) are both space eaters that weigh over 300 pounds. These two have the ability to blow up the interior of any line that they go up against and will excel against the run. Meanwhile, junior DE Da’Quan Bowers (58 tackles, 3 sacks) has played well the past two seasons but hasn’t yet lived up to the hype that saw him come into Clemson as the #1 recruit in the country. Expect him to break out this season in a major manner and that means that this line will be able to generate one heck of a pass rush. This is the best D-Line in the ACC.

At linebacker, junior Brandon Maye (103 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 INT) will be looked to provide a lot of leadership as the only returning starter. While he is a great player, there will be a bit of a learning curve, especially since there is a strong possibility that two underclassmen could end up starting next to him. That said, playing behind an excellent line should help accelerate that curve and I think that this will turn out to be a very productive group of linebackers this fall.

The Tigers won’t just be a defense that is great against the run because they have a fantastic secondary. Senior DeAndre McDaniel (102 tackles, 2 sacks, 8 INT) was a 1 st Team All-American last season after leading the ACC in interceptions while finishing 8 th in the league in tackles! Classmate Marcus Gilchrist (107 tackles, 1 sack) was also a great performer at safety in 2009 and he is moving to cornerback this fall to adjust for the loss of both starters from last year. This is possible because sophomore Rashard Hall (63 tackles, 6 INT) should easily step in next to McDaniel to form another excellent tandem. Senior Byron Maxwell (36 tackles, 2 INT) will complete an excellent starting four and the end result is a secondary loaded with ball skills and athleticism. This is one of the best defensive backfields in the country.

Well, I just said that Clemson is among the best in the country on the defensive line and in the secondary, so there is no question that this will be a dominant defense. The only position that I don’t rank as elite is at linebacker, where the Tigers still are anchored by a player in Maye who made over 100 tackles last year! With all of that talent, I think that Clemson might have the best defense in the conference in 2010.

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SCHEDULE

The non-conference schedule is pretty impressive, featuring two SEC opponents outside of league play as they travel to Auburn and host rival South Carolina. Though their first two games are at home against weak opponents, few teams in the country schedule that aggressively outside of league play. Speaking of their ACC slate, the Tigers have the misfortune of drawing North Carolina, Miami and Georgia Tech from the Coastal Division! While two of those games come at home, no other Atlantic Division team draws three of the top four contenders from the other side of the division this year. This won’t be an easy schedule as CU faces ten BCS conference opponents in a row to finish off the year.

OUTLOOK

There should be no questioning Clemson’s talent, even with the loss of five NFL draft picks. This team is completely loaded in the trenches as both lines are among the best in the entire country. As everyone knows, a great line is the foundation for a lot of success. On offense, the return of Kyle Parker should allow the Tigers to field a balanced offense because their ground game is going to be excellent with Harper and Ellington carrying the load. Meanwhile, the Tiger defense is going to be absolutely vicious as their secondary is extremely talented and should benefit from a strong pass rush up front.

While this isn’t a popular opinion, I believe that the Tigers will challenge for the Atlantic Division crown. Last season proved that Dabo Swinney isn’t just a great recruiter but a great coach, the crucial element that was always missing during the Bowden years. I fully expect this team to play well fundamentally this fall and should avoid the traditional Bowden collapse against inferior opponents.

However, Clemson has one major obstacle in their way of winning the Division for the 2nd consecutive season: The schedule. Their Coastal draw of Miami, North Carolina and defending ACC Champion Georgia Tech is the most difficult, by far, in the entire league. All three of those teams could win the ACC this season! Furthermore, the Tigers have to play at Florida State and Boston College, giving their two biggest divisional foes the home field advantage in their head to head matchups. Even with all of their talent, I think that this will be too difficult of a road for CU, especially with the rival Seminoles primed for an excellent season of their own. Expect a nice postseason trip and a competitive season, but they will not win the Atlantic. The Clemson Tigers are my choice to finish 2nd in the ACC Atlantic Division.

PREDICTED RESULT: 8-4 (5-3 ACC)