Clemson's 'worst case' in 2023 is a three-loss season

Clemson is ready to get themselves back into the national conversation. After a pair of seasons where many didn’t consider them to be at the peak of their powers, the Tigers have every intention of setting things straight, specifically offensively, in order to win big in the ACC and, potentially, the College Football Playoff.

However, to play devil’s advocate, what if they don’t? What if Clemson falls short again? What would that look like? Well, to On3’s JD PicKell, he sees the Tiger’s worst-case scenario as just shy of double-digit wins based on what he recently said on ‘The Hard Count’. If they trip somewhere unexpected or fall more than once to a strong opponent on their slate, he thinks nine wins would be the worst that things could get this fall for Dabo Swinney’s team.

“When I look at this record? I think you can find the worst-case looking like 9-3,” PicKell said.

“Like, 9-3 being the floor for Clemson? Maybe there’s a way that happens. Maybe they just kind of walk out there and don’t have their best game at NC State,” continued PicKell. “Those games we also talked about with Florida State and South Carolina and UNC? Maybe those catch them on the right Saturday.”

Clemson’s schedule is by no means a walk in the park. They’ll be tested from the very start as they’ll go to Durham for their opener to play a Duke team that went a surprising 9-4 in 2022.

From there, many have their matchup with the Seminoles on September 23rd as the game of the ACC season. It could very well be a preview of the eventual ACC Championship come the postseason.

After that, the Tigers will have a four-game stretch against Syracuse, Wake Forest, Miami, and NC State. Three of those matchups will come on the road. They will then close at home in three of their final four but will face stout competition like Notre Dame, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

There are more than a few spots on that schedule where Clemson could find themselves face first after a trip up. Even so, PicKell doesn’t believe it’ll happen more than once as his expectation is an 11-win season for the Tigers as they earn themselves another berth in Charlotte come December.

“Anything’s possible. It’s college football. But my prediction for Clemson is 11-1,” PicKell stated. “I think Clemson will go 11-1 and I think they’ll find themselves right back in the ACC title game.”