The first gameday of the 2023 season is upon us. Clemson is headed up to Duke to take on the Blue Devils. All throughout fall camp, this Tigers team is confident and repeating the emphasis on reaching a national title this year.
That starts at Wallace Wade Stadium, and Clemson has to handle business there before anything else. With a big opening ahead, here’s five things to watch for when the game kicks off at 8 p.m.
-How much will we see from Garrett Riley? It’s the season opener and being an offensive coordinator is a chess match week fo week. Everyone is excited to see his offense, but it’ll be interesting to see if Riley shows off the arsenal in this game or save some fireworks for the future.
-What will we see from Tristan Leigh? After a strong offseason, he’s earned the starting spot at left tackle. The most important position other than quarterback on offense in my opinion, Leigh has the job of defending quarterback Cade Klubnik’s back. A strong opener for him would be huge for this offensive line as a whole.
-Speaking of Klubnik, how much responsibility will he have on the field? Riley’s offense is detailed, and it’ll be interesting to see how much command Klubnik takes on offense after a full offseason of preparation for this moment. It’s been documented that the offensive line will be doing a lot of recognition, but will Klubnik have the right to check in and out of plays for the Tigers?
-How dominant can this defense be? Mike Elko’s Blue Devils are a tough matchup with dual threat quarterback Riley Leonard at the helm. The Clemson defense feels confident at every position, it’s just time to see that come to fruition. If they can shut down Leonard and Duke, it’s a great start for Wes Goodwin in Year 2.
-Can Robert Gunn III fill the shoes at kicker? With B.T. Potter gone, the household name and his reliability is no longer at Clemson and expectations have to be high for Gunn taking that spot. The redshirt freshman has a cannon in his leg, but consistency is the key especially looking at Potter’s career. All eyes are on Gunn, let’s see what he can do as the Tigers new place kicker.