TCI Game Day - Clemson Battles App. State

CLEMSON – It is game day in Death Valley where Clemson hosts Appalachian State in a night game.

The Tigers look to gain some momentum and earn the first win of the season.

Location: Memorial Stadium (Death Valley)

Kickoff: 8

Television: ACC Network

Announcers: Wes Durham, Tom Luginbill, Dana Boyle

2024 Record: Clemson 0-1,  Appalachian State 1-0

ACC Record: Clemson 0-0

Series History: Clemson leads series 5-0

Last Meeting: Clemson won 41-10 on September 12, 2015

Clemson will kick off the first of seven scheduled home games at Death Valley this season on Saturday, Sept. 7 when the Tigers face the Appalachian State Mountaineers. Kickoff at Memorial Stadium in Clemson
is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.

Even though 2024 represents the 129th season of Clemson Football, Clemson has had just 123 home openers in its history. The Tigers did not play any home games in the 1896, 1897, 1899, 1903 or 1914 campaigns. Clemson has a 98-17-8 record in its 123 home openers across its tenancies at Bowman Field, Riggs Field and Memorial Stadium.

Clemson will be looking to rebound from a seasonopening loss to No. 1 Georgia last week. The contest featured only 112 combined plays from scrimmage: 52 by Clemson and 60 by Georgia. It was only the 15th time since 1954 that Clemson had played in a game featuring 112 or fewer plays; 11 of those 15 took place in the 1950s, with the other contests taking place in
1963, 1998, 2006 and last Saturday.

This Saturday’s contest will be a matchup of two programs whose rushing offenses have consistently found the end zone in recent years. Clemson has scored a rushing touchdown in 78 of its 83 games since the start of the 2018 season. Clemson’s 78 games with a rushing touchdown in that span are the most in the nation, just ahead of Appalachian State, which ranks tied for second in that category with 74 games with a rushing touchdown. Clemson has rushed for a touchdown in 53 consecutive home games, the nation’s
longest active streak and one that dates to 2016.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS WEEK

– Clemson attempting to earn its 799th all-time win and pull within one victory of becoming the 14th FBS program (and first ACC program) ever to win 800 games.
– Clemson attempting to win its 21st consecutive home opener. A win would extend Clemson’s longest winning streak in home openers all-time, ahead of its 17 from 1944-60.
– Clemson attempting to improve to 99-17-8 in home openers.
– Clemson attempting to improve to 6-0 all-time against Appalachian State. All five previous meetings between the schools have been contested in Death
Valley.
– Clemson attempting to keep Appalachian State among the five programs against which Clemson has an undefeated all-time record with a minimum of five games played (5-0 vs. Appalachian State, 8-0 vs. Louisville, 6-0 vs. Newberry, 5-0 vs. South Carolina State and 5-0 vs. Western Carolina).
– Clemson attempting to improve to 4-0 all-time in home openers against Appalachian State, including a 40-7 win in 1984, a 34-0 win in 1991 and a 23-12 win in 1997. Appalachian State is one of 44 different opponents Clemson has faced in a home opener alltime.
– Clemson attempting to improve to 12-0 all-time in games against Sun Belt squads. Clemson’s most recent game against a Sun Belt team was in 2018, a 38-7 win against Georgia Southern.

– Swinney attempting to improve to 38-5 all-time gainst teams from the state of North Carolina.
– Clemson entering the game having scored at least one rushing touchdown in a national-best 78 of its 83 games since the start of the 2018 season. Clemson has also rushed for multiple touchdowns in a national-best 65 games in that span.
– Clemson entering the game having rushed for a touchdown in 53 consecutive home games, the nation’s longest active streak. The last team to hold Clemson without a rushing touchdown in Death Valley was Troy in 2016.

HOME OPENERS

Even though 2024 represents the 129th season of Clemson Football, Clemson has had just 123 home openers in its history as a function of the five seasons in which Clemson did not play a game at home. Clemson has a 98-17-8 record in 123 home openers.

Clemson is 35-2 in home openers since 1987, with its only losses in Death Valley debuts in that span coming in 1999 and 2003. Clemson has won 20
straight home openers with the last loss coming in Dabo Swinney’s first year as an assistant coach in 2003.

AT HOME IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY

Clemson has been right at home in non-conference contests at Memorial Stadium in recent years, going 29-1 in its last 30 non-conference home games.

Clemson had won 26 straight until a one-point loss to South Carolina in November 2022. Previously, Clemson’s longest unbeaten streak (including ties) in non-conference home games was a 20-game unbeaten streak from 1978-84 that saw ties against Boston College and Georgia interrupt winning streaks of 12 games, four games and two games.

Since joining the ACC as a charter member in 1953, Clemson is 131-33-4 at home against opponents from other conferences. That includes a 39-4 mark in nonconference games at Death Valley under Head Coach Dabo Swinney.

TCI Predictions

Robert – Clemson 27, App State 10

Will – Clemson 35, App State 17

JP – Clemson 31, App State 13