CLEMSON — One of Dabo Swinney’s favorite phrases is “They remember November.”

And they do.

However, if the Clemson Tigers want to get back to being one of the elites in college football, which is a stretch at this point, they need to win in September first.

Are the Tigers ready to win in September?

It is not going to be easy, though, I can tell you that, especially when looking at Clemson’s first month of the season. The ACC released Clemson’s 2026 Football Schedule on Monday.

Clemson opens the season at LSU, where it will travel to Baton Rouge, La., on Sept. 5 for the first time in the program’s history. Clemson is returning the favor after the Bayou Bengals came to Memorial Stadium last fall and beat Clemson, 17-10.

After returning home to play Georgia Southern in their home opener, the Tigers stay home to open their ACC season. A home game to open conference play is a rare occurrence in the Dabo Swinney as they face Bill Belichick and UNC.

Clemson ends the first month at Cal on Friday (Sept. 25) in Berkely, Calif., on a short week, nonetheless.

Can you tell Clemson is no longer the Darling of the ACC?

The Tigers are going to play at Cal on a short week after playing a rival at home in what will likely be a physical matchup. With a travel day to the West Coast, it means Clemson will have four days to prepare, which includes not taking a day off after the UNC game.

To make matters worse, the Tigers will be breaking in a first-time starter at quarterback. New offensive coordinator Chad Morris has his hands full getting this offense ready.

With an inexperienced quarterback, it hard to imagine Clemson coming out of September with anything better than a 2-2 record.

The first of the season, from the looks of things, is setting up to be another rough start for the Tigers.

I wonder if Dabo Swinney wishes he went out and grabbed an experienced quarterback from the portal now. This is not the kind of schedule Clemson needed while trying to break in a new quarterback and a brand-new offense.

It is a good thing the Tigers loaded up on the defensive side of the football from the transfer portal. They are going to need every last one of those guys to step up and make plays if they want to come out of September as winners.

If not, the only thing people are going to care about in November… I will just let you use your imagination.

Clemson 2026 Football Schedule

• Sept. 5: at LSU
• Sept. 12: vs. GEORGIA SOUTHERN
• Sept. 19: vs. NORTH CAROLINA
• Sept. 25 (Fri.): at Cal
• Oct. 3: vs. MIAMI (FLA.)
• Oct. 10: Open Date
• Oct. 17: vs. CHARLESTON SOUTHERN
• Oct. 24: vs. VIRGINIA TECH
• Oct. 31: at Florida State
• Nov. 6 (Fri.) -OR- Nov. 7: at Syracuse*
• Nov. 14: vs. GEORGIA TECH
• Nov. 21: at Duke
• Nov. 28: vs. SOUTH CAROLINA