Our Clemson Tigers open the season against the local Furman Paladins. While they are an FCS opponent, they are no stranger to success having made nine playoff trips since the turn of the century. Trust me, from personal experience, the Paladins would like nothing more than to taste tiger blood- but enough about those guys!

Our team is expected to put together a prolific run throughout the course of the season and make a fourth consecutive playoff appearance. As Spiderman’s uncle, Benjamin Parker, famously said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” While this star-studded team sure has the fire power, there are a few matters that will soon have to be addressed — starting with this game. Like what, you may ask?

There is a major battle happening in Tiger Town over who will be the starting quarterback. The race is down to the incumbent starter, Kelly Bryant, and five-star gun slinger, Trevor Lawrence! While Bryant has the experience, all signs point to Lawrence having raw talent that can’t and should not be contained. This is one matchup you will want to keep an eye out for. These quarterbacks have plenty of talent surrounding them to make the big plays down the field and put up some huge numbers!

The Clemson defense is as undeniably fierce as ever with the defensive line leading the charge. This unit is arguably the greatest front four in college football history. There’s a lot of exciting new talent on this Clemson team and there’s no better way to start the season than with an in-state matchup!

My prediction: Tigers on top, 52-3

— Tajh Boyd