Clemson is back in fall camp and the pieces are being put together in preparation for the first game of the season. Less than a month from now, the Tigers will be making the trip up to Wallace Wade Stadium to take on the Duke Blue Devils.

The scouting and scheming for the matchup has already begun, and head coach Dabo Swinney talked about all the work Clemson has been doing to reach that moment. It’s a talented and experienced team for Swinney, but Duke is making waves in their program and first games are always unpredictable.

“We need to show up with a great focus and commitment every day and we need to learn and grow from the success and the mistakes of the day before and just kind of build throughout camp. That’s part of it and obviously we need a little luck to stay healthy in a couple spots for sure,” Swinney said.

There’s a reason you play the games, and while the Tigers will be favored in the matchup, it’s two teams that haven’t taken the field in 2023, let alone seen the others how they look for this season. With that in mind, Swinney elaborated on this mindset for camp.

While you can be prepared and confident, it’s impossible to predict how the first game will go because each team is still yet to play football.

“We don’t get to play football until Labor Day night. You saw a game last night…there’s a reason why the pros play preseason games, for that reason right there,” Swinney said. “Cause they have’t played football, it’s a long time to go. I don’t care how much you practice, there’s no simulation of playing the game and even when you get two scrimmages, you’re still going against each other.”

This phenomena is heightened because Clemson has to go on the road for their opener, and Swinney says that the first game is “always the hardest to prepare for,” and the gap between the last game in 2022 to now causes teams to really not know their opponent fully.

Swinney says the Tigers are doing all they can to account for the unknown, and they’re going to be prepared for the challenge with Duke.

“We’re playing a really, rally god team in duke who’s got a ton of confidence and a ton of guys back. There’s always challenges,” Swinney said. “You get into game week, you’ve only got so much time…we’ve been working on our first few opponents since the spring and guess what, they’re going to be doing that for us too…the key is finding a way to win the opener and then you go from there.