CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2023 Clemson

9–⁠4 (4–⁠4 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Dabo Swinney, finished No. 20 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Clemson in 2023, game by game: lost at Duke 7–28; won vs. Charleston Southern 66–17; won vs. Florida Atlantic 48–14; lost vs. No. 4 Florida State 24–31; won at Syracuse 31–14; won vs. Wake Forest 17–12; lost at Miami 20–28; lost at NC State 17–24; won vs. No. 12 Notre Dame 31–23; won vs. Georgia Tech 42–21; won vs. No. 22 North Carolina 31–20; won at South Carolina 16–7; won vs. Kentucky 38–35+49−21Lost 7–28 at Duke-21DukeWon 66–17 vs. Charleston Southern+49Charleston Sout…Won 48–14 vs. Florida Atlantic+34Florida AtlanticLost 24–31 vs. No. 4 Florida State-7No. 4 Florida StateWon 31–14 at Syracuse+17SyracuseWon 17–12 vs. Wake Forest+5Wake ForestLost 20–28 at Miami-8MiamiLost 17–24 at NC State-7NC StateWon 31–23 vs. No. 12 Notre Dame+8No. 12 Notre DameWon 42–21 vs. Georgia Tech+21Georgia TechWon 31–20 vs. No. 22 North Carolina+11No. 22 North CarolinaWon 16–7 at South Carolina+9South CarolinaWon 38–35 vs. Kentucky+3Kentucky
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4atDukeL 7–⁠2856%
Sep 9vsCharleston SouthernW 66–⁠1792%
Sep 16vsFlorida AtlanticW 48–⁠1477%
Sep 23vs4Florida StateL 24–⁠3154%
Sep 30atSyracuseW 31–⁠1446%
Oct 7vsWake ForestW 17–⁠1269%
Oct 21atMiamiL 20–⁠2860%
Oct 28atNC StateL 17–⁠2453%
Nov 4vs12Notre DameW 31–⁠2341%
Nov 11vsGeorgia TechW 42–⁠2175%
Nov 18vs22North CarolinaW 31–⁠2059%
Nov 25atSouth CarolinaW 16–⁠759%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvsKentuckyGator BowlW 38–⁠3562%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Kentucky 38–⁠35 in the Gator Bowl; No. 20 in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 21st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 9
  2. Wk 2: 25
  3. Final: 20
Record
9–⁠4
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 20 peak No. 9
Points
388–⁠274
Coach
Dabo Swinney
Elo
1686 +43 this season
SP+ rating
10.5 No. 22 of 133; offense No. 51, defense No. 21, special teams No. 64
SRS
10.4 No. 23 of 133 in FBS
Returning
55% of last season’s EPA, No. 61 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 11 roster talent No. 5 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Garrett Riley
Defensive coordinators
Wes Goodwin and Mickey Conn
Offense
Dirt raid
Defense
4–⁠3 / 4–⁠2–⁠5 hybrid

How good, play by play

  • Offense94th of 133
  • Defense9th of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted89th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted8th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0444%1.0294th of 133
Defense-0.0434%1.389th of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.06 off
-0.02 def		44% off
35% def		—89th off
8th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.6own 3317% allowed
Defense4.0own 2724% caused

CORE rating 14.8, 18th of 133 (offense -4.1, defense -18.9).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsCade Klubnik QB2,844 yds
Passing touchdownsCade Klubnik QB19 TD
Rushing yardsPhil Mafah RB965 yds
Rushing touchdownsPhil Mafah RB13 TD
Receiving yardsTyler Brown WR531 yds
Receiving touchdownsJake Briningstool TE5 TD
TacklesJeremiah Trotter Jr. LB79 tkl
SacksJeremiah Trotter Jr. LB5.5 sacks
InterceptionsKhalil Barnes S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Peter Woods DL★★★★★No. 34
T.J. Parker DL★★★★No. 50
Vic Burley DL★★★★No. 72
Christopher Vizzina QB★★★★No. 78
Stephiylan Green DL★★★★No. 115
Harris Sewell OL★★★★No. 161
Jamal Anderson LB★★★★No. 207
Avieon Terrell CB★★★★No. 239

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.964
Running backs23.00.864
Receivers43.50.885
Offensive line34.00.918
Defensive line64.20.947
Linebackers23.50.899
Defensive backs53.60.889
Athletes and specialists34.00.896
Whole class263.80.908

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2024

The 2024 draft
Rd 1Nate Wiggins CBBaltimore Ravens
Rd 2Ruke Orhorhoro DTAtlanta Falcons
Rd 4Will Shipley RBPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 5Xavier Thomas DEArizona Cardinals
Rd 5Jeremiah Trotter Jr. LBPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 6Tyler Davis DTLos Angeles Rams

Roster 133

The 2023 roster

133 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 72 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 1

The 2023 portal
Paul Tyson QB★★★from Arizona State

Transfers out 11

D.J. Uiagalelei QB★★★★to Oregon State
Dacari Collins WR★★★to NC State
Etinosa Reuben DL★★★to Georgia Tech
Kobe Pace RB★★★to Virginia
Malcolm Greene S★★★to Virginia
E.J. Williams WR★★★to Indiana
Fred Davis II CB★★★to UCF
Vonta Bentley LB★★★to Colorado
Sergio Allen LB★★★to California
Kevin Swint DE★★★★to Georgia State
Billy Wiles QB★★★to Southern Miss

2023 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Florida State8–⁠013–⁠16
Louisville7–⁠110–⁠419
NC State6–⁠29–⁠421
Georgia Tech5–⁠37–⁠6
Virginia Tech5–⁠37–⁠6
Clemson4–⁠49–⁠420
North Carolina4–⁠48–⁠5
Duke4–⁠48–⁠5
Miami3–⁠57–⁠6
Boston College3–⁠57–⁠6
Syracuse2–⁠66–⁠7
Pittsburgh2–⁠63–⁠9
Virginia2–⁠63–⁠9
Wake Forest1–⁠74–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.