CHARLOTTE — It is Game Day in the Queen City where Clemson battles North Carolina for the ACC Football Championship. An Orange Bowl berth is awaiting the winner.

Clemson is seeking to win its seventh ACC Championship in eight years.

Location: Bank of America Stadium

Kickoff: 8:00 PM

Television: ABC

Announcers:  Todd Blackledge, Sean McDonough, Molly McGrath

2022 Record: Clemson 10-2,  North Carolina 9-3

ACC Record: Clemson 8-0, North Carolina 6-2

Series History: Clemson lead the series 38-19-1

Last Meeting:  Clemson won 21-20 on September 28, 2019

CLEMSON LOOKS TO RECLAIM ACC CROWN ON SATURDAY AGAINST UNC

After Clemson’s six-year streak of ACC titles ended in 2021, the No. 10/11 Tigers will attempt to reclaim the conference crown and earn their seventh title in eight years when they face the No. 24/22 North Carolina Tar Heels in the 2022 ACC Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 3. Kickoff at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte is set for 8 p.m. ET.

A win Saturday would be Clemson’s eighth ACC Championship Game victory since the ACC instituted the conference championship game (and divisional format) in 2005, including a win in a division-free year in 2020.

An eighth conference title would tie Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney with College Football Hall of Famer Frank Howard (eight, including six ACC titles) for the most conference championships in Clemson history. A
win would also make Clemson the first team in an active Power Five conference to win seven outright conference titles in an eight-year span since Alabama won eight outright SEC titles in nine years from 1971-79.

Clemson has been powered in part this season by a North Carolina native, as Weddington’s Will Shipley has been one of the nation’s most versatile weapons. Shipley has recorded the 23rd 1,000-yard rushing season in
school history, and his contributions as a receiver and as a kick returner have made him one of only two players in the nation with at least 1,000 rushing yards, 150 receiving yards and 200 kickoff return yards, along with Texas A&M’s Devon Achane. Shipley is one of four finalists for the Paul Hornung Award, given to the nation’s most versatile player, and is a contender for AllAmerica recognition as an all-purpose/athlete candidate.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS WEEK

– Clemson making its ninth all-time ACC Championship Game appearance, adding to the Tigers’ ACC record (2009, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020).
– Clemson, which has previously represented the Atlantic Division in a conference-best seven ACC Championship Games, representing the Atlantic Division in the final year of the ACC’s divisional format. This does not include 2020 in which the conference’s top two regular season teams faced off in the conference title game.
– Clemson attempting to become the first program to win 21 ACC titles. Since helping form the conference in 1953, Clemson leads the ACC with 20 titles all-time, including 19 outright.
– Clemson attempting to earn its 27th conference championship all-time, including four SIAA championships and two Southern Conference
championships prior to the formation of the ACC. Clemson’s 26 conference titles across all conferences are the most of any current or former ACC member.
– Clemson attempting to tie Utah (27) for the 10thmost conference titles among current FBS programs. (Note: Utah can win its 28th conference championship on Dec. 2 prior to Clemson’s game on Dec. 3).
– Clemson attempting to win a postseason game (conference championship, bowl game and/or national championship game) for a 12th consecutive season.  Clemson’s current 11-year streak is the longest active streak in the country and tied with 1985-95 Florida State for the longest streak on record back to 1980, according to Stats Perform.
– Clemson attempting to become the first program in an active Power Five conference to win seven outright conference titles in an eight-year span since Alabama won eight SEC titles in nine seasons from 1971-79.
– Clemson attempting to improve to 8-1 all-time in ACC Championship Games.
– Clemson attempting to improve to 2-0 all-time in ACC Championship Games against North Carolina, including a 45-37 victory in the 2015 ACC Championship Game. Clemson has faced Virginia Tech and North Carolina twice each in conference title games and faced Georgia Tech, Miami, Pitt, Virginia and Notre Dame once each.

SWINNEY IN NFL STADIUMS

Saturday’s game at Bank of America Stadium, home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, will be Clemson’s 20th game in an NFL stadium since 2015. Clemson has won 16 of its last 22 games in NFL stadiums.

Clemson has a 19-10 record in NFL stadiums under Head Coach Dabo Swinney, including a 6-2 record in Charlotte in games played at Bank of America Stadium.

DABO & MACK

Clemson’s 2022 season is its 12th consecutive 10-win campaign, one of only four streaks of nine or more 10-win seasons in FBS history. The only coaches
other than Dabo Swinney to accomplish the feat are Nick Saban, Bobby Bowden and Swinney’s counterpart on Saturday, Mack Brown, whose 2001-09 Texas Longhorns teams won 10-plus games for nine straight years.

The similarities in leadership styles and sustained success between Swinney and Brown may not be a coincidence. Upon Swinney’s transition from interim head coach to full-time head coach in December 2008, Swinney sought counsel from some of the sport’s top leaders at the time. Swinney once expounded upon a cold call to Brown in early 2009 that helped launch an era at Clemson:

“I reached out to several coaches to try to go visit just, really, prominent head coaches that I didn’t know but I felt like they did things the right way and I just wanted to go and pick their brain. And Mack was the only one that said OK.

“I didn’t really know Mack, but I just remember calling him up and left a message. He called me back. And he was just very congratulatory. He said, ‘Man, I’m really happy for you. I actually kept up with you,’ which I thought was kind of cool that Mack Brown was paying attention to what the interim guy was doing at Clemson. He said, ‘Heck, yeah, come on out.’ And so I
did, brought the whole staff.

“And it was awesome. It was great. Their staff was very gracious. And I was just hoping to get a little bit of time with him, and he spent several hours with me.  I’ll always be so grateful for that. I mean, here’s a guy that has ‘been there, done that’ numerous times. And I just had a lot of specific things that I wanted to pick his brain on and took pages of notes and just had great
conversation and came away with some confirmation and came away with maybe some different thoughts as well. So it was just an incredibly meaningful meeting for me as we came back and really kind of kicked our
new program off going into that first spring.

TCI Predictions 

Robert – Clemson 41, UNC 27

Davis – UNC 34, Clemson 31

Dear Old Clemson has added the Tiger Sack Pack to our online store.  Save by getting the Two Pack of signed cards from two of the nation’s top defensive ends, Myles Murphy and Xavier Thomas.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes.