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The 2021 football schedule was looking a bit boring... Not anymore.
Due to scheduling quirks with Notre Dame in which the Tigers will play the Irish three out of four seasons (2020, 2022, 2023), Clemson was forced to reach into the Group of Five ranks to find their 7th home game for 2021. The Tigers were set to host both UConn and Wyoming from the Group of Five along with an FCS team (SC State) and a weak SEC team (U of SC) for the 2021 season. If you thought the squawking about Clemson’s soft scheduling was nauseating in 2019, it was due to get much worse.
Many thought Clemson was unwilling to part with their 7th home game to find a solution - something that would have to be done because of the 2022 and 2023 games against Notre Dame. Now, TigerNet is reporting that Clemson and Georgia has come to terms to play in Charlotte. Clemson will drop one of their home games against a Group of Five team. TigerNet suggests it will likely be Wyoming.
While season ticket holders and local businesses will miss the 7th home game in Death Valley, but having a marquee opponent on the schedule became more important after a mostly non-competitive regular season slate in 2019. It’ll be interesting to see how Clemson handles ticketing with the neutral site game, but I think most fans will agree that this is good for the sport. Kudos to AD Dan Radakovich for making the tough decision to play fewer home games in 2021 to provide a quality schedule.