SEASON PREDICTIONS

Chili:

So, I have us at 9-5, improbably playing in the ACC Championship Game. I have to preface these picks by saying I don't have a freaking clue how the season is going to go. Until the questions I have about the team (O-line play, special teams, QB play, etc) are answered, I can't say I'm at all confident in this prediction. I have this vague idea of what Clemson will be like, and based on this, here's my best shot. I can see us losing a game or two more than I'm saying here, and I can also see us maybe picking up a game I predicted as a loss. I just don't know.

Sep. 3 - Florida State - W - Both teams are relying on relatively green offensive lines and quarterbacks that some folks have reservations about, and both teams have what should be pretty solid defenses. I expect this to be a sloppy, low scoring affair with our slightly more experienced o-line and our RBs making the difference.
Sep. 8 - Louisiana-Monroe - W - Blowout.
Sep. 15 - Furman - W - I like playing these guys, but this one should be a laugher.
Sep. 22 - @ NC State - W - Not a lot to say about this one. O'Brien is a great coach and will improve this team, but not enough by the 22nd.
Sep. 29 - @ GT - L - I really can't stand GT. I respect them, and they've been a solid ACC club for a while, but there's something about the smug, often douchey fanbase that, pardon my French, grinds my gears. I would hope that tons of Clemson fans, as usual, would fill the lame gameday surroundings at Tech, where the city and the state could care less as they tune into the Dawgs' games each week. I think James Davis puts up great numbers in his hometown, but Tech gets it done in the end. I don't like it, but I can see it happening.
Oct. 6 - Virginia Tech - L - VT has our number and I don't see this game being any different. For the second year in a row they'll stuff our box like John Holmes and force us to air it out to no avail. I don't think this will be as nasty a loss as last year.
Oct. 20 - Central Michigan - W - C-Mich has a great quarterback. That's about all I know about them, except that they can chalk up a loss on the 20th in what will probably be a closer-than-expected game. I would maybe chalk this up as our random WTF? game of the year, but I don't see us dropping four straight this season.
Oct. 27 - @ Maryland - L - I hate, hate, hate Maryland. Worst fans in college sports, worst college football atmosphere, worst college town ever. But I may very well be in Collipark for this one.
Nov. 3 - @ Duke - W - I don't think Duke will go 0-fer this year, but they won't win this one.
Nov. 10 - Wake Forest - W - Grobe will field a good team again this year, but this will be the official kick start to a 2003-style late season surge.
Nov. 17 - Boston College - W - Matt Ryan is the best QB in the league not named Willy Korn but he won't be enough as we finally beat these lobster-eating bastards.
Nov. 24 - @ South Carolina - W - Honestly this game could go either way and hinges on the momentum of the respective teams at this point in the season. We sort of gave it away last season. Like Willy Mac, I don't think that happens again.
ACCCG - Maybe... VT - I gotta be honest, I'm not sure about the conference winning percentage math here and whether conference games out of division count, but someone in the Atlantic will finish ahead of us, more than likely. If the other teams' records work out in our favor and we make it, VT beats us again. A faint diabolical laugh can be heard from a certain bubble on a certain neck.
Bowl - If we lose the ACCCG, Chick-fil-a Bowl, if we don't make it, hello Music City! Again I have no clue if we make it to Jacksonville. If we do and lose, it's Atlanta to lose to an SEC team. If not, it'll be Memphis to win a mediocre bowl. Here is where I say I completely disagree with Willy Mac's pick for us to be in the C-F-A Bowl. If we don't end up in the ACCCG, there's no way we go to Atlanta. We can bring fans, but with Boston College and Georgia Tech still steaming about recent lame bowl assignments, the ACC will try as hard as they can to make sure bowls are doled out strictly based on records. I also think Seigler is huffing gasoline and floating on a bed of orange gumdrops and Skittle rainbows with his rosy prediction further down the post.


Willy Mac:

I'm not going to bore you with the ifs, maybes, wouldas, couldas, shouldas, zips, zangs, or reach arounds this year. Straight up, it's time to do work. I also think it's gonna be another slightly above average season. Again. Although, nobody expected us to do jack in 1981, but then again we did have ol' Danny chewin the plug on our sidelines.

Sep. 3 - Florida State - W - Defensive struggle and we barely edge it out solely due to our offense simply being better than theres. The defensives are nearly equal.
Sep. 8 - Louisiana-Monroe - W - Cupcake city.
Sep. 15 - Furman - W - But barely, believe it or not. Furman is always good and should never be taken lightly.
Sep. 22 - @ NC State - L - O'Brien does what any good Irish Catholic does... shames his team into winning. It'll probably be me doing the heavy drinking come gameday though. I also think this is the game Harper folds due to their defense still having an ass of talent.
Sep. 29 - @ GT - W - Big time. Just like last year. Usually this series is like a pendulum and goes back and forth, but by his time they're going to be out of the top 25 and instead of Gaines Adams eating Tarshard Choice's lunch this year, it'll be Phil Merling.
Oct. 6 - Virginia Tech - W - This is my homer game. The game where I hope, and pray that somehow the neck bubble pops the week of so the Hokies have to go Beamerless. We do have the advantage of the game being in the Valley though.
Oct. 20 - Central Michigan - W -But barely again. These guys are good. To drop a bit of coot knowledge on you: They took the fight to a BC team that beat us last year. Year in and out, these guys are good for their conference, which ever one that is. Don't count them out.
Oct. 27 - @ Maryland - L - The Fridge gobbles up a few of our defensive players Hungry, Hungry Hippo style towards the end of the game and the refs, in a controversial move, turn their heads. Bowden wines and cries but it goes unheard as he has been advised not to launch his headphones.
Nov. 3 - @ Duke - W - But barely, due to it being up there and us not being able to get motivated.
Nov. 10 - Wake Forest - W - Wake Forest has just lost too many players this year. It'll be close, but this game will be slow and it'll suck.
Nov. 17 - Boston College - L - Still too many good players left over for us to overcome. Also, having a pro coach come in doesn't help matters at all.
Nov. 24 - @ South Carolina - W - I just don't see the hype. Last year we beat ourselves. I don't think Bowden lets that happen again.
ACCCG - Don't make hotel reservations in Jacksonville this year.
Bowl - Chik-Fil-A Bowl - Florida - L - A very pissed off Florida team runs the score up on a dejected Tiger team, thus bringing us to a 9-4 season. Yay. At least there will be plenty of Chik-Fil-A sammiches to eat.


Seigler:

I look at the schedule this year and I see a season where Clemson could easily have 10 wins or more. However, I know better than to predict such things, having learned my lesson in previous years. I think we’ll be lucky to have 9 wins in all, but I think the first game is definitely going to set the tone for this season. We should be able to hold of the Seminoles, and continue our recent dominance over the formerly stalwart, and now very shaky, Bobby Bowden dynasty. This is where I think it gets tricky for us, either we win the FSU game, and take down the easy kills of the next two games and blow it big time in the final seconds against NC State, or we do the opposite. We let the Seminoles slip through our fingers, but that drives us to win the next 4 in a row, losing narrowly to VA Tech and dominating the rest of the season (to include a thorough thrashing of that “other school” in Columbia). However, in that scenario we screw ourselves out of a shot at the ACC title, because FSU goes undefeated by some miracle and edges us out. Those are just two of many scenarios playing out in my mind, based on past years' performances under Tommy. However, I’m going to flip flop again and predict a good season for the Tigers, despite our big question mark at QB.

Sep. 3 - Florida State - W - barely, but we pull it out in style, winning by a touchdown in the fourth quarter, seemingly miraculously.
Sep. 8 - Louisiana-Monroe - W - We make up for not beating the complete tar out of FSU by destroying this team a million to none
Sep. 15 - Furman - W - A good team , but just not bad enough to play with the big boys.
Sep. 22 - @ NC State - W - We make up for our embarrassing effort against them last year in Death Valley, and put some points on the board
Sep. 29 - @ GT - W - GA Tech will be pesky this year, but we’ll edge them out in a close contest, it will serve as a wakeup call for the team , and hopefully mentally prepare them for VA Tech.
Oct. 6 - Virginia Tech - L - This won’t be a blowout, well basically only because they’ll be coming to our house, but who knows what might happen. I think at this point the team might be overconfident in their abilities and let VA Tech stun them like they did last year. Who knows though, but I’m still predicting our first loss of the year.
Oct. 20 - Central Michigan - W - We make up for our loss the week before, but it’s not a complete blowout, maybe 10 points difference.
Oct. 27 - @ Maryland - W - We let the Terps know that they got lucky last year.
Nov. 3 - @ Duke - W - Come on now, it’s Duke, and unless they can really just screw up our season completely (i.e. we’re undefeated at this time) we shouldn’t have much trouble with them.
Nov. 10 - Wake Forest - W - Wake won’t have 11 wins again this year, and this will be one more loss in that column, I hope it will be a while before they have our number again.
Nov. 17 - Boston College - W - I hate this team more than any other in the ACC now, without a doubt, and I think Clemson has something to prove against these Yankees come south, not in our house, not again and not 3 in a row.
Nov. 24 - @ South Carolina - W - As a birthday present to yours truly, the Tigers will once again dominate the Gamecocks in a fashion reminiscent of 11/22/2003.

Now comes the sad part.

Assuming we’ve come this far, we meet VA Tech again in the ACC championship game and they crush us, unfortunately. I’m predicting this one a loss.

A loss their will send us to the Peach bowl, where we’ll probably get tarred and feathered by some SEC powerhouse, but at least we’ll have had an 11 win season and at least smelled a championship of some kind. Clemson will come out of the gate strong, but fizzle after winning the two most important games of the season ( FSU and SC).