Clemson Tigers Add New Opponent to 2027 Schedule

The Panthers are one of two non-Power Four opponents that Clemson will play the season after this one, joining Wofford as the in-state FCS team that the Tigers annually play. Georgia State hails from the Sun Belt, which has been a conference opponent that they’ve hosted in recent years. 

It continues the plethora of teams from the Sun Belt conference that Clemson typically plays. Last season, the Tigers hosted Troy, another Sun Belt team, defeating the Trojans for their first win of the season. This upcoming season, Clemson will host Georgia Southern on Sept. 12 inside Death Valley, marking its first home game after LSU to open the season. 

Clemson’s other two games that are not against an ACC opponent are Notre Dame and South Carolina. The Fighting Irish and Tigers will begin a home-and-home series beginning in 2027, first game being played at Memorial Stadium and will last at least until 2037. 

Then, that season’s Palmetto Bowl will be at Williams-Brice Stadium to close out the regular season. 

Another takeaway from the announcement is the November date, which has become more of a common theme with schools scheduling games in the middle of their in-conference schedule to break up the season. Again, Clemson is doing this with Charleston Southern next season. The Tigers host the school on Oct. 17. 

This comes after a bye week the previous Saturday, coming after an Oct. 3 home matchup with Miami, the runner-up to the national champion this past season. The non-conference opponents during a final stretch that could most likely see pivotal ACC matchups to get a berth in the ACC Championship and an in-state rivalry could be beneficial going forward.

Other matchups that the Tigers have in the future are a home-and-home with the Georgia Bulldogs in 2029-30 and the Oklahoma Sooners in 2034-35. If both would still have the job 10 years from now, it would put head coach Dabo Swinney against Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables, who worked together when Venables was the Tigers’ defensive coordinator. 

All of Clemson’s games that are not against conference opponents can be found here.