FanPost

Mark it down, Kraken

Bill Connelly does a great job previewing each FBS team and he has completed Clemson's scheduled opponents, which will help you Mark Things Down. Here are the links to each one with some of my thoughts below. I'm really bored, lots of work to do, but I'm more than ready for college football.

Opponent Location Date Projected F/+ Rank
Wofford Home 5-Sep NR
Appalachian State Home 12-Sep 103
Louisville Away 17-Sep 32
Notre Dame Home 3-Oct 16
Georgia Tech Home 10-Oct 19
Boston College Home 17-Oct 49
Miami Away 24-Oct 28
NC State Away 31-Oct 48
Florida State Home 7-Nov 17
Syracuse Da Dome 14-Nov 73
Wake Forest Home 21-Nov 89
South Carolina Away 28-Nov 31

I rolled my eyes when Bill Connelly said Watson's health will be the difference between a contending year and 6-6, but the more I look at this schedule I agree. The Louisville, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech stretch will be tough, then you throw in a physical Boston College team with talent and a Miami team with upside and things get even tougher. This is before Clemson plays Florida State and at South Carolina. Say what you will, SEC homers, but the ACC has quality teams.

In my mind, 9-3 is a reasonable expectation with a healthy Watson. The OL has the potential to be a hot mess, the DL could be really thin, and we're replacing Anthony and Steward. If anyone of Watson, Lawson, Hyatt, or Gore are injured or have a bad year, the team will step back in a big way.

That being said, I'm prepared for Kraken to mark some things down.

1. Watson stays healthy, playing in 11/12 or 12/12 games.

2. Clemson wins the ACC.

3. Clemson does not make the College Playoffs.

4. The defense is top 30 in final F/+.

5. The offense is top 15 in final F/+.

6. The OL is top 80 in final adjusted line yards.

7. The OL is top 60 in final adjusted sack rate.

8. A TE surpasses 300 receiving yards.

9. A TE has 3 or more touch downs.

10. A running back surpasses 1000 rushing yards.

11. Charone Peake surpasses 1000 receiving yards.

12. Artavis Scott surpasses 1000 receiving yards.

13. Mike Williams surpasses 1000 receiving yards.

14.The DL is top 40 in final adjusted line yards.

15. The DL is top 35 in final adjusted sack rate.

16. Special Teams F/+ improves to top 75.

17. Guillermo is the starting center, or plays the majority of snaps if not injured, for the Florida State game.

18. It's the preseason, I'm a fan, so mark me down for 10-2 regular season.

I'm betting Watson stays healthy, Hyatt figures out LT, Gore really was not himself last year (and is a serviceable RT), and Guillermo can get back in shape. I'm not worried about the DL. The starters are very good and there is a lot of talent in backups. I disagree with Bill that Clemson lost their best cornerback last year. The stats don't show picks and breakups by Mac because no one was throwing his way. Peters got the attention because he was the weakest link and that is crazy awesome.

I'm heavily weighted towards offensive predictions, but I believe that's because I have a better sense of how that's going to shake out with a healthy Watson. I'm not sure how the defense will work specifically, but I think there is enough experience and options that Venables can keep it solid.

These opinions are not necessarily those of the Proprietors of Shakin' The Southland.