Which ACC team has the hardest schedule next season?

ACC Network analyst EJ Manuel believes it’s Clemson.

The former Florida State star quarterback discussed the Tigers’ 2024 schedule during the ACC Huddle: 2024 Football Schedule Release show on ACCN/ESPN2 on Wednesday.

Manuel shared why he feels Clemson has the most difficult slate of competition, starting with the season opener against Georgia in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Aug. 31, when the Tigers will try to earn their first win against Georgia since 2013.

“Like, you start the season off with Georgia,” Manuel said. “And the only reason I say this is one of the tougher schedules is because that game, if they don’t win it, then the narrative again nationally at times can then be the negative, right – people start chirping and all that kind of stuff. But if they do win it, ‘Clemson’s back,’ all those kind of things, which then adds a lot of pressure.”

Following that battle with the Bulldogs, Clemson will host its home opener on Sept. 7, when the Tigers welcome the Appalachian State Mountaineers to Memorial Stadium.

Clemson is 5-0 all-time against App State, with the most recent victory coming by a score of 41-10 against Scott Satterfield’s Mountaineers in 2015.

“You’ve got App State, which is never an easy team for any opponent that they play in the Power Five,” Manuel said.

After an open date on Sept. 14, Clemson will welcome NC State to Death Valley on Sept. 21. The Tigers will attempt to bounce back from a road loss in Raleigh last year and extend their home winning streak against the Wolfpack in Death Valley to 10 games.

Clemson will then host Stanford at Death Valley on Sept. 28 before hitting the road for contests at Florida State (Oct. 5) and Wake Forest (Oct. 12).

The Tigers will return home to face former Clemson assistant Tony Elliott’s Virginia team on Oct. 19. Following another open date on Oct. 26, Clemson will play its final conference home game on Nov. 2 against Louisville, which is coming off its first ACC Championship Game appearance in school history this past season (16-6 loss to FSU).

“NC State’s going to be much improved this year – a quarterback that can certainly run that offense led by (offensive coordinator) Robert Anae, a bunch of other pieces, (wide receiver) KC Concepcion and a returning defense. Move down to Florida State on the road, then you’ve got Louisville at home,” Manuel said.

“So you’ve got really good teams at different pockets of the season. So I think when you have injuries where you don’t show up in certain games – let’s say you play great the seventh game, the eighth game, you come out a little bit flat. I think it’s going to be really key for this Clemson team to try and sustain this throughout the entire year, and that’s always hard to do for anybody.”

Clemson will conclude its 2024 ACC schedule with a matchup at Pitt on Nov. 16, one week after traveling to Virginia Tech on Nov. 9.

It will be the Tigers’ first trip to Virginia Tech since the pandemic-impacted 2020 season, and its first to a fully charged Lane Stadium atmosphere since 2017.

Clemson is 8-2 all-time at Lane Stadium since the facility opened in 1965 and has won its last three games there by an average of 23.0 points per game.

“They’ll round it out with Virginia Tech late in the season,” Manuel said. “November, it’s going to be cold, I’m assuming that’s going to be a night game in Lane Stadium. That’s going to be a tough one. Tech’s going to be good, too.”

–Clemson Athletic Communications contributed to this story