The upcoming season is the first under the ACC’s 3-5-5 scheduling model announced last June, where each team will play three primary opponents annually and face the other 10 league teams twice during the four-year cycle, once at home and once on the road.

The new model disposes of the Atlantic and Coastal divisions, and now, the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 2 will feature the top two teams based on winning percentage.

Entering the first year of the new scheduling model, CBS Sports released its ACC strength of schedule rankings for the 2023 season, stacking up the conference’s schedules in order from the most difficult to the easiest.

Clemson’s schedule checks in as the fifth-toughest according to CBS Sports, behind Georgia Tech at No. 1, Florida State at No. 2, Duke at No. 3 and Wake Forest at No. 4 in the rankings.

The Tigers will take on each of the aforementioned teams this season.

“It’s at this point where I think the six teams between No. 5 and No. 10 in our rankings are almost interchangeable,” CBS Sports’ Chip Patterson wrote, regarding Clemson’s schedule. “They all have some high-end difficulty and also a couple of games that make those challenging spots seem more manageable. For example, Clemson has Notre Dame, Florida State and North Carolina on the schedule, but all three of those games are at home. There is a tricky back-to-back road trip at Miami and at NC State in October, but the Tigers get their off week just before that. Ultimately, playing the annual South Carolina game on the road tipped the scales to push Clemson up to No. 5.”

North Carolina’s schedule is ranked right behind Clemson’s, with Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Miami and NC State rounding out the top 10. Former Clemson assistant Tony Elliott’s Virginia team came in at No. 11 in the strength of schedule rankings.

Clemson opens the 2023 campaign at Duke on Labor Day (Monday, Sept. 4) before hosting three consecutive home games at Death Valley, including the highly anticipated showdown against Florida State on Sept. 23.

We are excited to announce our second annual Dear Old Clemson event for the freshmen football class.  Come out on July 22 at 10 AM at the indoor football facility for a meet and greet autograph session with the scholarship freshmen from the 2023 class.  Clemson coordinators Garrett Riley and Wes Goodwin will be attendance and speak at the event.

Get your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.