Game Week Break Down: Clemson vs Furman
Clemson VS Furman
Saturday September 1st 2018
All Time: Clemson leads series 42-10-4
Venue: Clemson (SC) Memorial Stadium
Kickoff: 12:20 PM
TV Network: ACC Network
Clemson opens the 2018 Season this Saturday in the friendly confines of Death Valley as the home team Tigers welcome local neighbors, the Paladins of Furman to Memorial Stadium. The Tigers and Paladins are no strangers to each other having met 56 times since the initial 1896 contest which saw the Tigers Win 14-6. And in the past century plus Clemson has held the advantage all time, currently sitting at 42-10-4. This is the first meeting since 2012 , a Clemson victory.
The Tigers come into this contest off of a 12-2 season that saw Dabo Swinney’s team earn a 3rd straight ACC championship and third consecutive trip to the college football playoff. The Paladins, finished 2017 with an overall record of 8-5 under the guidance of head coach Clay Hendrix. And are highly ranked inside the FCS and expected to compete for the Southern Conference crown.
Take a minute to read C-S-N’s preview and prediction here for Game 1 of the 2018 Season.
When Furman has he Ball:
The story line here will be the Clemson defense and it’s ability to penetrate and cause havoc in the backfield. This allows the line backers and secondary to sit on their heels and play with anticipation and not have to attack and blitz as much. The mis match being the size of the Tigers defensive line and it’s depth that will overwhelm the Furman offensive line and live in the Paladins backfield all day.
Dexter Lawrence, Christian Wilkins, Clelin Ferrel and Austin Bryant have seen their stocks rise with all the pre season accolades and this game gives these very highly thought of lineman the chance to confirm what the college football world is expecting out of them performance wise. A steady dose of lineman in the backfield is the prediction.
Also look for a lot of new faces in the Line backing corps. Kendall Jospeh and Tre Lamar return to start along with Isiah Simmons. But behind them look to see a lot of new faces and some that are just now starting to develop as the Tigers wanted to see when originally recruiting them to come play in Clemson. Mike Jones Jr is a freshman that will see a lot of action with the new red shirt rule in place. But look for veterans Chad Smith and James Skalski and Jalen Williams to fill in behind the starters Lamar,Joseph and Simmons.
The treat for the Clemson fan base will be when some of the celebrated newcomers like Xavier Thomas and KJ Henry take to the field. But keep your eyes on Kyler McMichael and Mario Goodrich , two newly added freshmen that look to plug into the defensive backfield immediately.
When Clemson has the Ball:
The Tigers will obviously be looking to get in as many players as possible into the line up for this game. Kelly Bryant has been named the starting QB and will start out with the 1st team offense and move the ball with relative ease. Look for the downfield passing game to be showcased on this date. Tee Higgins and Amari Rodgers now step into the roles vacated by Deon Cain and Ray Ray McCloud. Along with veterans Trevion Thompson, Deondre Overton and 3rd down go-to Hunter Renfrow all will see a lot of work on this afternoon.
And then look for Trevor Lawrence and a highly skilled cast of red shirt freeman and true freshman to step into the line up and show the orange clad throng inside the valley just why they were so highly thought of in the recruiting process. With a stable of running backs 4 deep, look to see newcomer Lynn J Dixon to be show cased and also look for Justyn Ross, Braden Galloway and Derion Kendrick to be targeted in the passing game.
Prediction: This one plays out just like it looks on paper, a very good and athletic team from Greenville will step off the bus and put in 100% effort as they try and man up against a superior team in every sense of the word. Effort is important, but when you are outnumbered in the ability and athlete column, you are automatically behind the proverbial eight ball. And that is where the Paladins find themselves on this September Saturday. Out-manned and out gunned at every position group.
This one should have the Clemson reserves seeing action before halftime. And expect the Tigers to unload the bench to get in as many players as they can for the purposes of evaluation moving forward in the season. College football has no “pre season” games for it’s members, but look at this one as just that… a warm up game or glorified scrimmage held in front of 82,000 Orange and Purple clad fans. In the end Clemson overwhelms the team from Greenville (SC) with too much depth and wears the Paladins down in a hurry. It won’t be very competitive after the opening kickoff, but a much needed dress rehearsal for the Clemson team and the 2018 Tigers season.
Tigers: 56 Paladins: 10
Highlights from the last meeting in 2012:
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