CLEMSON, S.C. — The Atlantic Coast Conference announced its 2021 football schedule on Thursday. Clemson will open the season on Saturday, Sept. 4 when the Tigers face the Georgia Bulldogs at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. in one of the most anticipated non-conference games of 2021 before returning to Memorial Stadium to kick off its six-game home slate on Sept. 11.
2021 Clemson Football Schedule:
(Home games BOLDED; all games on Saturday unless otherwise noted)
- Sept. 4: vs. Georgia (in Charlotte, N.C.)
- Sept. 11: vs. SOUTH CAROLINA STATE
- Sept. 18: vs. GEORGIA TECH
- Sept. 25: at NC State
- Oct. 2: vs. BOSTON COLLEGE
- Oct. 9: Open Date
- Oct. 15 (Friday): at Syracuse
- Oct. 23: at Pitt
- Oct. 30: vs. FLORIDA STATE
- Nov. 6: at Louisville
- Nov. 13: vs. UCONN
- Nov. 20: vs. WAKE FOREST
- Nov. 27: at South Carolina
The team plans to hold its annual Spring Game on Saturday, April 3. Gameday designations for the 2021 season will be announced at a later date.
In order to receive the 2021 online football season ticket and parking application, all IPTAY donors must pledge and complete 50 percent of their IPTAY 2021 donation by Monday, March 15. To make your pledge and 50 percent payment for the IPTAY 2021 year, please click HERE. Season tickets for both renewals and new orders will then go on-sale in early spring to IPTAY members who have renewed and completed 50 percent of their pledge by the March 15 deadline.
More information on ticketing for the 2021 Clemson Football season will be available by visiting ClemsonTigers.com or by calling 1-800 CLEMSON. Fans can also gear up for the 2021 football season online at the Clemson Tigers Store.
SEPT. 4 • VS. GEORGIA • BANK OF AMERICA STADIUM, CHARLOTTE, N.C.
Clemson and Georgia will meet for the first time since splitting a home-and-home series in 2013-14 after the programs met 24 times in a span of 26 years from 1962-87, playing one another every year with the exception of the 1966 and 1972 seasons. In back-to-back years in 1980-81, the winner of the Clemson-Georgia contest went on to win the national championship, as Georgia earned a 20-16 victory against Clemson and a national title in 1980, followed by Clemson defeating Georgia, 13-3, en route to a national title in 1981.
SEPT. 11 • VS. SOUTH CAROLINA STATE • MEMORIAL STADIUM, CLEMSON, S.C.
Clemson will welcome South Carolina State for its home opener on Sept. 11 as part of the Tigers’ annual non-conference scheduling philosophy of facing two Power Five conference opponents, a Group of Five conference opponent and an in-state Football Championship Subdivision squad. Clemson has 95-17-8 record in home openers against 38 different opponents all-time, and the Tigers are 35-0 against FCS opponents since Division I split in 1978, winning 34 of the 35 games by double digits.
SEPT. 18 • VS. GEORGIA TECH • MEMORIAL STADIUM, CLEMSON, S.C.
Clemson and Georgia Tech will meet on Sept. 18, a season removed from Clemson’s run on the record books in a 73-7 rout of the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta in 2020. Clemson’s 66-point victory margin was the largest in a game between two ACC teams since the conference’s inception in 1953 and was Clemson’s second-largest win all-time against a school presently in the Football Bowl Subdivision, trailing only a 73-0 victory against Georgia Tech in 1903. Clemson enters this year’s game at Death Valley 6-0 against Georgia Tech at home since Dabo Swinney was named Clemson’s full-time head coach on Dec. 1, 2008.
SEPT. 25 • AT NC STATE • CARTER-FINLEY STADIUM, RALEIGH, N.C.
Clemson had played NC State every year since 1971 prior to last year’s schedule change, and the Tigers and Wolfpack will renew their Textile Bowl series this year on Sept. 25. Clemson has won 15 of its last 16 games against NC State, including each of the last eight, the longest winning streak by either team in the all-time series. In the teams’ most recent meeting, Clemson clinched the ACC Atlantic Division in 2019 with a 55-10 prime-time win in Raleigh.
OCT. 2 • VS. BOSTON COLLEGE • MEMORIAL STADIUM, CLEMSON, S.C.
Scheduling quirks will result in Boston College making its third trip to Memorial Stadium in three years, as on Oct. 2, the Eagles will join Duke (1986-88), Virginia (1972-74) and Wake Forest (1957-59 and 1983-85) as the only ACC programs ever to face Clemson in Death Valley in three consecutive seasons. Including an 18-point comeback victory last season that was the largest comeback win in the history of Death Valley, Clemson has won 10 consecutive games against Boston College, its eighth winning streak of 10 games or more against a single opponent all-time.
OCT. 15 (FRIDAY) • AT SYRACUSE • THE DOME, SYRACUSE, N.Y.
Clemson will seek its fourth consecutive win against Syracuse on Friday, Oct. 15, which would match Clemson’s longest winning streak in the all-time series from 2013-16. In its last visit to Syracuse, Clemson avenged a 27-24 upset road loss from 2017 with a dominating 41-6 prime-time win at The Dome in 2019. Clemson is 7-2 all-time against Syracuse and has been ranked in the AP Top 25 in all nine all-time meetings with the Orange, including a Top 3 ranking in seven of the teams’ last eight matchups.
OCT. 23 • AT PITT • HEINZ FIELD, PITTSBURGH, PA.
Though the Oct. 23 meeting between Clemson and Pitt will be the fifth all-time meeting between the two programs, the game will represent Clemson’s first road game against the Panthers in series history. However, it will be Clemson’s second game in the Steel City all-time, joining Clemson’s 34-13 win against Duquesne at Forbes Field in 1947 under Head Coach Frank Howard.
OCT. 30 • VS. FLORIDA STATE • MEMORIAL STADIUM, CLEMSON, S.C.
Prior to the series’ interruption last season, Clemson and Florida State had met every season since the Seminoles joined the ACC in 1992. The teams will renew the series on Oct. 30, when Clemson will attempt to extend its winning streak against Florida State to six games. Clemson has won the last three meetings between the two teams by an average margin of 32.3 points per game, buoyed by fast starts in each of the last two games. Clemson combined to post a 56-0 edge in points, a 614-128 advantage in total yards and a 35-10 advantage in first downs in the first half of games against Florida State in 2018 and 2019.
NOV. 6 • AT LOUISVILLE • CARDINAL STADIUM, LOUISVILLE, KY.
Clemson will resume its series with Louisville on Nov. 6, as Clemson will enter its 2021 matchup against Louisville boasting a 6-0 all-time record against the Cardinals, one of two current FBS programs against whom Clemson has won its first six all-time games. Before the series was interrupted last year, Clemson had scored 42, 47, 77 and 45 points in its last four meetings with Louisville, respectively, representing Clemson’s first time scoring 40-plus points in four straight games in a series with an ACC opponent.
NOV. 13 • VS. UCONN • MEMORIAL STADIUM, CLEMSON, S.C.
Clemson and UConn will meet for the first time on Nov. 13, marking the fourth time in the last five years that Clemson will face an opponent for the first time in school history, including series-opening wins against Kent State (2017), Georgia Southern (2018) and Charlotte (2019). Clemson holds a 63-38-4 all-time record when facing an opponent for the first time, and Clemson has won 14 of its last 15 games when making its all-time debut against a new opponent.
NOV. 20 • VS. WAKE FOREST • MEMORIAL STADIUM, CLEMSON, S.C.
Clemson and Wake Forest will face off on Nov. 20 in a series that has been dominated by the Tigers in the Dabo Swinney era. Wake Forest last defeated Clemson on Oct. 9, 2008, a loss that led to the departure of Head Coach Tommy Bowden and led to the elevation of Swinney four days later. In the time since, Clemson has posted a 12-0 record against the Demon Deacons, making Wake Forest one of five ACC programs against whom Swinney is undefeated (Duke, Louisville, Virginia and Virginia Tech).
NOV. 27 • AT SOUTH CAROLINA • WILLIAMS-BRICE STADIUM, COLUMBIA, S.C.
Clemson’s traditional regular season finale returns on Nov. 27, when Clemson will conclude regular season play against rival South Carolina. Last year’s interruption ended a streak in which the in-state rivals had faced another 111 consecutive years, dating to 1909, which had been the second-longest active streak in the FBS. The Tigers have won each of their last six contests against the Gamecocks, and another Clemson victory this season would match the longest winning streak in series history by either program (seven by Clemson from 1934-40).
SCHEDULE NOTES AND ODDITIES
- Clemson is once again scheduled to play 10 Power Five Conference opponents. During Clemson’s active 10-year streak of 10-win seasons, Clemson has played 119 games against Power Five foes — the most in the country — and leads the nation with 102 wins against Power Five teams in that span. The 2021 season will be Clemson’s 20th consecutive season facing at least 10 Power Five opponents.
- Clemson enters the season with an active winning streak against 10 of the 12 teams on its schedule. Clemson has active winning streaks against Wake Forest (12), Boston College (10), NC State (eight), Georgia Tech (six), Louisville (six), South Carolina (six), Florida State (five), South Carolina State (four), Syracuse (three) and Pitt (two). Georgia won its last meeting with Clemson in 2014, and the Tigers have never faced UConn.
- Clemson is scheduled to host a six-game home slate. Clemson has staged at least six games at Death Valley every year since 2000. In the College Football Playoff era (since 2014), Clemson is 47-1 at home, the most home wins and top home winning percentage in the country, and is riding a school-record and national-best 28-game home winning streak.
- Clemson’s season opener in Charlotte will be the Tigers’ third neutral-site season opener in school history, including games in Atlanta against Alabama in 2008 and against Auburn in 2012. Clemson also played an off-site opener against Alabama in Birmingham in 1904.
- Clemson’s opener against Georgia snaps a two-year stretch of Clemson opening up against ACC competition. Clemson most recently opened a season against another Power Five Conference opponent outside of the ACC in 2016, earning a 19-13 win at Auburn to kick off a national championship season.
- Clemson’s season opener against Georgia will be Clemson’s fifth time opening a season against an SEC opponent under Head Coach Dabo Swinney. Clemson is 3-1 in season openers against SEC foes in his tenure, including a 1-1 mark against Georgia.
- Clemson enters the neutral-site showdown with Georgia having won six of its last seven neutral-site regular season games.
- Clemson holds a 7-1 all-time record at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, the site of the season opener. That includes a 1-0 mark in regular season play (vs. Temple in 2006) and a 6-0 record in ACC Championship Games.
- Clemson is 94-23-8 all-time in season openers, including victories in 11 of its last 12 season debuts.
- When Clemson opens conference play at Memorial Stadium on Sept. 18, it will mark only the second time in nine years that Clemson has opened its conference slate at home. Since 2012, Clemson’s only other season in which it played its first ACC game at home was in 2019, when Clemson defeated Georgia Tech, 52-14. Clemson has won each of its last six conference openers since 2015, the longest conference-opener winning streak in school history.
- Clemson opens ACC play against Georgia Tech on Sept. 18. It will mark the fourth time in a six-year span that Clemson has played its first conference game of the season against the Yellow Jackets (2016, 2018, 2019 and 2021). Clemson is 42-25-1 all-time in ACC season debuts, including a 10-2 mark against Georgia Tech in those games.
- Clemson’s game against Syracuse on Friday, Oct. 15 will be Clemson’s 60th Friday game all-time. Clemson is 30-24-5 all-time on Fridays.
- By virtue of the rivalry being interrupted last year, Clemson will now play consecutive games at South Carolina in the series for the first time since 1959. Clemson played the first 57 games in the 117-game series on the road on “Big Thursday” during the annual State Fair until the series transitioned to the home-and-home format in 1960.
- With both Georgia and South Carolina on Clemson’s schedule, Clemson will play multiple SEC opponents in the regular season for the 10th time in the last 12 years. The only years in that span in which Clemson did not face two SEC opponents were in 2015 and 2020, years in which Clemson was scheduled to play Notre Dame in non-conference play (and the latter of which was altered by the COVID-19 pandemic).
- Clemson enters the season 12-4 against SEC opponents in the College Football Playoff era, including a 10-1 mark in regular season play against SEC teams during that time frame.
- Clemson will be facing three head coaches for the first time: Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Florida State’s Mike Norvell and South Carolina’s Shane Beamer. Clemson has won its most recent contest against all other head coaches on its 2021 schedule.
