Clemson football vs Charleston Southern: Score prediction, scouting report for Week 2
Clemson football has its 2023 home opener Saturday against FCS Charleston Southern.
The No. 21 Tigers (0-1) are coming off a 28-7 loss at Duke in Week 1. The Buccaneers (1-0) beat Division II North Greenville 13-10 last week at home.
Clemson is a perfect 37-0 against FCS opponents, 36 of them by double digits. It has never played Charleston Southern.
Here's what to know about the Buccaneers before kickoff Saturday (2:15 p.m. ET, ACCN).
Charleston Southern's rebuild
The Buccaneers are under new management with first-year coach Gabe Giardina. He was hired from Division II Albany State after Charleston Southern went 2-8 in 2022, and former coach Autry Denson was fired after four seasons. The Buccaneers haven't finished above .500 since 2017.
Giardina has something in common with Clemson coach Dabo Swinney: Both played at Alabama, though not at the same time. Swinney was a wide receivers coach for the Crimson Tide when Giardina was a freshman at Alabama.
Week 1 struggles
Charleston Southern's season opener against North Greenville wasn't pretty. The Buccaneers trailed until halfway through the fourth quarter, when they scored with about seven minutes to play and won 13-10.
They managed 252 yards of total offense, 104 of them passing, and punted on seven of their 11 drives. Quarterback Tony Bartalo completed 5-of-12 passes for 95 yards. They relied on their running game, which finished with 148 yards on 35 attempts and accounted for their one touchdown.
The defense fared better, with an interception and seven tackles for loss, including five sacks.
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Player to watch: JD Moore
Running back JD Moore is the Buccaneers' top returning player on offense. He was named second-team All-Big South Conference last season after leading Charleston Southern with 527 rushing yards. He averaged 6.1 yards per carry as a redshirt sophomore in 2022.
In Charleston Southern's first game this season, Moore ran for 105 yards on 17 carries. His longest run was 49 yards, and it set up the game-winning touchdown on the next play.
Score prediction
Clemson 45, Charleston Southern 3: Charleston Southern needed about 52 minutes of game time to score a touchdown against a Division II team. The Buccaneers might not find the end zone at all against Clemson, while the Tigers' offense will take out some frustrations on Charleston Southern.
Christina Long covers the Clemson Tigers for the Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. You can follow her on Twitter @christinalong00 or email her at clong@greenvillenews.com.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson score prediction vs Charleston Southern: College football Week 2
