4 bold predictions for Clemson football entering the 2022 season
CLEMSON – Here’s a prediction for Clemson football’s 2022 season: The Tigers will post a 12th consecutive season with 10 or more victories.
Ho-hum. What else is new?
Clemson’s level of success has reached the point where a 10-win season is more a foregone conclusion than a bold prediction.
Coach Dabo Swinney’s team, which will kick off its 2022 schedule at Georgia Tech on Labor Day Night, is intent on rebounding following last season’s “sub-par” 10-3 record.
The Tigers, who are ranked No. 4 in both the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll and the AP preseason poll, are picked to win the ACC Championship. Such might be old hat for Clemson, which has won six of the past seven ACC titles, but here are four season predictions of a considerably bolder variety:
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Clemson extends home winning streak to 41
Clemson enters the 2022 season owning the nation’s longest home winning streak at 34, and that run of success will continue.
The biggest threats to the Tigers’ streak could come on Oct. 1 against N.C. State and on Nov. 19 against Miami, both of whom are preseason Top 25 opponents.
Clemson hasn’t lost at Memorial Stadium, aka Death Valley, since falling 43-42 to Pitt on Nov. 12, 2016.
The Tigers are 53-1 at home since 2014 for a .982 winning percentage – the best figure in the country and topping Alabama’s 52-2 home record during that time span.
Tigers return to College Football Playoff
Clemson sat at home during the 2021 College Football Playoff, missing the postseason foursome for the first time in six years. The Tigers’ absence will be short-lived.
There’s a proven and time-tested path to the CFP, and Clemson will follow that route for the seventh time in eight years: win the ACC’s Atlantic Division, win the ACC title and punch a CFP ticket.
The Tigers have been here before and rank second only to Alabama in CFP berths, CFP title-game appearances, total CFP victories and CFP titles.
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Clemson's defense will be its best ever
Clemson’s defense has ranked in the Top 10 nationally in both total defense and scoring defense in six of the past eight years, including 2021. The 2022 season should be the best ever.
The Tigers return a ton of talent, particularly on a defensive front anchored by All-ACC picks Bryan Bresee and Tyler Davis on the interior and Myles Murphy and fifth-year standouts Xavier Thomas and K.J. Henry at the ends. Thomas and Henry have combined for 46.5 tackles for loss and 22.5 sacks in their careers and Murphy was the leading defensive vote getter in preseason All-ACC balloting.
Joseph Ngata will have 1,000 yards receiving
It’s Joseph Ngata’s time to shine.
The most experienced player among the Tigers’ receivers, Ngata has the size (6-foot-3, 220 pounds) and ball skills to be the ACC’s top receiver if he can remain injury-free. Ngata missed nine games because of injury the past two seasons, but has drawn rave reviews for his performance in Clemson’s preseason practices.
“I’ve got a ton of confidence in Ngata,” offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter said. “He only knows one speed, and it’s 100 percent. He’s overcome some stuff. He’s in a great spot.”
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football: 4 bold predictions for the 2022 season
