Football

2019 CLEMSON FOOTBALL SCHEDULE RELEASED

2019-01-18 13:56:13
0

By Trevor Groves

It's early this year! Well done, ACC!

I absolutely love this schedule. The Defending National Champs open on Thursday at home against Georgia Tech, as I reported back in December, they host A&M the following week, which will likely be another night game, and then play at Syracuse. I'd like to see Cuse a little later on the schedule, but otherwise it's about as good as one could hope. The most interesting thing about the 2019 schedule is that the Tigers get TWO bye weeks, including one before the Gamecocks! I can't remember ever having two off weeks in one season. I guess that's not much different than the SEC's annual FCS cupcake game that week though! Also, for the second straight year, the Tigers do not have to play a road Thursday or Friday night game. I guess Commissioner Swofford finally realized where the ACC's bread is buttered when it comes to football, and if he wants to keep bringing in National Championship money, he'd better do what he can to help the Tigers with their schedule. The Tigers' last regular season loss was on Friday the 13th at Syracuse in 2017. They have won a nation-long 30 consecutive Saturday games!

Release from Clemson:

CLEMSON, S.C. — The Atlantic Coast Conference announced its 2019 football schedule on Wednesday, and Clemson will kick off its 2019 campaign on Thursday, Aug. 29, when the team hosts Georgia Tech at Memorial Stadium in the first game ever to be broadcast on the soon-to-be-launched ACC Network.

The following week, Clemson will host another marquee matchup at Memorial Stadium, welcoming the Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday, Sept. 7. Last season, Clemson defeated Texas A&M, 28-26, at Kyle Field, in front of an announced crowd of 104,794 people, the largest crowd ever to witness a Clemson football game in person.

Clemson's first road contest of the season will come in conference play when the Tigers face Syracuse on Saturday, Sept. 14. The Tigers defeated the Orange in memorable fashion in 2018, preserving their chance at an undefeated season by engineering a 13-play, 94-yard touchdown drive to earn the come-from-behind win last September.

Clemson will return to Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 21 for a non-conference contest against Charlotte. It will be the first meeting between the two schools all-time. Including a win in the first all-time meeting between Clemson and Georgia Southern in 2018, Clemson holds a 62-38-4 all-time record when facing an opponent for the first time.

On Saturday, Sept. 28, Clemson will face North Carolina in the Tigers' first trip to Chapel Hill since 2010. The Tigers and Tar Heels have met three times since the teams' last contest in Chapel Hill, with Clemson going 3-0 in those contests including home wins in 2011 and 2014 and an ACC Championship Game victory in Charlotte in 2015.

Following an open date, the Tigers will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 12, when they play host to the Florida State Seminoles. Clemson is currently riding a four-game winning streak against the Seminoles, holding the distinction as the only ACC program ever to defeat Florida State in four consecutive seasons. After losing its first seven home games in its series with Florida State, Clemson has since won seven of its last eight home contests against the Seminoles dating back to 2003.

Clemson will face the Louisville Cardinals on the road on Saturday, Oct. 19. Clemson is undefeated against Louisville, having pushed its all-time record in the series to 5-0 with a 77-16 victory at Memorial Stadium in Clemson last season.

Clemson will return home for a second two-game homestand on Saturday, Oct. 26, and Saturday, Nov. 2, when the team faces Boston College and Wofford, respectively. Last season, Clemson defeated Boston College, 27-7, in prime time to secure the team's fourth consecutive ACC Atlantic Division title. The Wofford game represents a renewal of a series that dates back to 1896, when the first team in Clemson history earned a 16-0 victory against Wofford.

Clemson's final ACC road game will be played on Saturday, Nov. 9, when the Tigers face the NC State Wolfpack. The teams met at Memorial Stadium in Clemson in 2018 in a battle of Top 25 teams, in which Clemson earned a decisive 41-7 victory. The 34-point margin of victory was Clemson’s second-largest in the 87-game all-time series between the two programs and tied for Clemson's second-largest margin of victory against a ranked opponent all-time.

Clemson will conclude its home slate on Saturday, Nov. 16, against Wake Forest. The Tigers' historic offensive attack was on full display in the teams' 2018 meeting, as Clemson averaged 10.0 yards per play and recorded a then-school-record 11.8 yards per carry in a 63-3 win to post the largest margin of victory in conference play in school history.

Following a second open date, the Tigers' will conclude regular season play on the road on Saturday, Nov. 30, against South Carolina. Clemson is currently in the midst of a five-game winning streak in the series. A win this season would pull Clemson within one win of the longest winning streak by either team in the rivalry (seven by Clemson from 1934-40).

Clemson fans can catch their first glimpse of the 2019 Tigers on Saturday, April 6, when the team hosts its annual Spring Game at Memorial Stadium.

In order to receive the 2019 online football season ticket application, all IPTAY donors must pledge and complete 50 percent of their IPTAY 2019 donation by Friday, Feb. 15. To make your pledge and 50 percent payment for the IPTAY 2019 year, please click here. Season tickets for both renewals and new orders will go on-sale Friday, March 1 to IPTAY members who have completed their pledge.

More information on ticketing for the 2019 Clemson Football season will be available by visiting ClemsonTigers.com or by calling 1-800 CLEMSON.

2019 Clemson Football Schedule:

(Home games in CAPS; all games on Saturday unless otherwise listed)

Aug. 29 (Thursday): GEORGIA TECH
Sept. 7: TEXAS A&M
Sept. 14: at Syracuse
Sept. 21: CHARLOTTE
Sept. 28: at North Carolina
Oct. 12: FLORIDA STATE
Oct. 19: at Louisville
Oct. 26: BOSTON COLLEGE
Nov. 2: WOFFORD
Nov. 9: at NC State
Nov. 16: WAKE FOREST
Nov. 30: at South Carolina

Additional Notes on the 2019 Clemson Football Schedule:

Clemson will open the season at home for the third consecutive season, the program's first time opening at home three straight years since 2009-11.
Clemson is 92-23-8 all-time in season openers, including victories in nine of their last 10 season debuts. Clemson is 80-10-6 when opening a season at home, dating back to a 64-0 home win against Davidson by Coach John Heisman's Tigers to open the 1900 season.
The opening contest represents Clemson's first time opening a season on a Thursday since facing Georgia Tech on Thursday, Sept. 10 to open the 2009 season. That contest also represented the last time Clemson faced a conference opponent in its season opener.
Clemson's opener against Georgia Tech snaps a six-year stretch in which it opened ACC play on the road. Prior to 2019, the last time Clemson played its first conference game of a season at home was in 2011, when the Tigers defeated Florida State, 35-30, to start conference play.
Clemson's Thursday night game against Georgia Tech will be the fifth Thursday game in Memorial Stadium history, joining Thursday contests in 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2013. It will be the first time Clemson has opened a season at home on a Thursday.
Clemson will face three Power Five conference opponents in the first three weeks of the season for the first time since 2005. That year, Clemson earned a 25-24 win against Texas A&M of the Big 12 followed by a pair of ACC games, a 28-24 win at Maryland and a 36-30 three-overtime loss against Miami. Clemson has not opened 3-0 against major conference opponents in the first three games of the season since it defeated Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and Virginia to open the 1960 campaign.
Both Texas A&M and South Carolina are included on Clemson's schedule, marking the ninth time in the last 10 years that Clemson will play multiple SEC teams in the regular season. Clemson concluded the 2018 season having won 10 of its last 12 contests against SEC competition.
Clemson's sixth win of the season would be its 750th in program history. Presently, only 14 FBS programs have won 750 games all-time (Michigan, Ohio State, Texas, Alabama, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Penn State, USC, Tennessee, Georgia, LSU, Auburn and West Virginia).
Clemson enters the season with an active winning streak against every team on its schedule with exception of Charlotte, against whom the Tigers have never played. Clemson has active winning streaks against Georgia Tech (four), Texas A&M (two), Syracuse (one), North Carolina (three), Florida State (four), Louisville (five), Boston College (eight), Wofford (five), NC State (seven), Wake Forest (10) and South Carolina (five).

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Atlantic Coast Conference announced the 2019 football schedule Wednesday, and once again, it includes arguably the most challenging non-conference competition among the Power 5 conferences.

• ACC teams will play more games (20) against Power 5 competition (including Notre Dame) than any of their peers.

• ACC teams will play more games against non-conference teams (16) ranked in last year’s final Associated Press Top 25 than any other Power 5 conference.

• ACC teams will play 26 games against non-conference opponents that participated in bowl games last season, the highest total among Power 5 conferences.

• ACC teams will play 11 non-conference games against teams in ESPN’s 2019 Way-Too-Early Top 25, which is the most among their peers.

“As we look ahead to the 2019 season, there’s significant excitement surrounding ACC Football, which is currently enjoying a period of unequaled success,” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. “The individual and collective accomplishments of our 14 football programs are a tribute to the leadership of our student-athletes, coaches and administrators. The upcoming season will feature the debut of the ACC Network, which will provide our fans even more opportunities to follow the ACC and their favorite teams.”

Just one week after the ACC Network launches on Aug. 22, the first conference football game will kick off on the new all-ACC platform when Georgia Tech visits Clemson for a Thursday night contest on Aug. 29. The 24/7 network is poised to air 1,300 live events annually across its TV and digital offerings from around the conference’s 15 member schools and 27 sponsored sports.

ACC teams will play four neutral site games on the opening Saturday of the 2019 season, including Duke vs. Alabama in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta, Georgia; Florida State vs. Boise State in Jacksonville, Florida; Miami vs. Florida in the Camping World Kickoff in Orlando, Florida; and North Carolina vs. South Carolina in the Belk College Kickoff in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The ACC’s traditional Labor Day Monday game features Notre Dame at Louisville.

The ACC will have four games nationally televised by ESPN on Thursday nights, including North Carolina at Wake Forest (Sept. 12), Syracuse at NC State (Oct. 10), North Carolina at Pitt (Nov. 14) and NC State at Georgia Tech (Nov. 21). The league also has six Friday night games, including Utah State at Wake Forest (Aug. 30), William & Mary at Virginia (Sept. 7), Duke at Virginia Tech (Sept. 27), Virginia at Miami (Oct. 11), Pitt at Syracuse (Oct. 18) and Virginia Tech at Virginia (Nov. 29). Networks for these games will be announced at a later date.

In addition to Louisville’s Labor Day against Notre Dame, the schedule includes four additional games against the Fighting Irish, which finished No. 5 in the final 2018 AP Top 25 poll. As previously announced, Duke plays host to Notre Dame on the ACC Network on Nov. 9, while Virginia (Sept. 28), Virginia Tech (Nov. 2) and Boston College (Nov. 23) all visit South Bend.

In all, the schedule includes 56 regular-season conference match-ups over a span of 14 weeks and is capped off with the 15th annual Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship Game, which will be played on Saturday, Dec. 7, at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium.

The ACC is coming off another successful football season that saw Clemson claim the league’s eighth national championship with a 44-16 win over Alabama. The ACC has now won three of the last six football national championships (Clemson 2016 & 2018, Florida State 2013), which leads all leagues.

The ACC finished the 2018 bowl season with a 6-5 record, which does not include Boston College’s bowl game vs. Boise State that was canceled due to weather. The six postseason wins ties for the most among all conferences.

The ACC is the only conference to send every team to at least one bowl game over the last three seasons.

About the Atlantic Coast Conference

The Atlantic Coast Conference, now in its 66th year of competition and 15 members strong, has long enjoyed the reputation as one of the strongest and most competitive intercollegiate conferences in the nation. ACC members Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest continue to build upon the cornerstones on which the league was founded in 1953 with a consistent balance of academics, athletics and integrity. The ACC currently sponsors 27 NCAA sports – 14 for women and 13 for men – with member institutions located in 10 states. For more information, visit theACC.com and follow @theACC on Twitter and on Facebook (facebook.com/theACC).

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