Clemson football vs. Charleston Southern: Kickoff time, TV channel, stream, score
The No. 25 Clemson football team will try to conjure up some good vibes Saturday after losing to Duke in Monday’s primetime season opener.
Here’s your gameday guide for the Tigers’ home opener against FCS Charleston Southern, which marks the start of a three-game homestand.
Clemson vs. Charleston Southern game, TV info, score
Who: No. 25 Clemson (0-1, 0-1 ACC) vs. Charleston Southern (1-0)
When: 2:15 p.m. Saturday
Where: Memorial Stadium, Clemson
TV: ACC Network
Broadcast crew: Drew Carter, Dustin Fox and Alex Chappell
Stream: Via ESPN or the ESPN app
Radio: 105.5 FM in the Clemson area (see all Clemson radio affiliates here)
Satellite radio: SiriusXM 104 or 193
Series history: First ever meeting
Clemson vs. Charleston Southern Vegas odds
Clemson is a 50.5-point betting favorite against Charleston Southern, according to the VegasInsider consensus line as of Saturday. The Tigers haven’t covered a spread against an FCS opponent since 2017.
Major sportsbooks usually avoid making lines for FBS-FCS matchups or post them late in the week since the home team (generally a Power Five team) is always a massive favorite.
Weather forecast for Clemson SC
High of 84 degrees with mixed sunshine and clouds, according to Weather.com. As of Saturday, there’s also a 22% chance of rain (down from 80% Friday). “A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible,” according to the website.
Top storylines for the game
Execution across the board will be key for Clemson following a 21-point loss to Duke that dropped the Tigers 16 spots in this week’s AP Top 25 poll. Quarterback Cade Klubnik needs to be sharper after an interception and at least three more interceptable balls. The offense needs to be far more efficient after two fumbles inside the 10-yard line and a 1-for-4 red zone scoring clip against the Blue Devils. And the defense needs to clean up a number of tackling issues. It’s only an FCS opponent, but a strong performance will go a long way for a Clemson team insisting its best days are still ahead.
The Tigers, like most Power Five schools, have cruised against FCS opponents. They’re 37-0 all-time against teams from the classification below FBS since 1978 and won those games, on average, by 35.2 points. Of note: last year’s 35-12 win against FCS Furman did mark Clemson’s lowest margin of victory against an FCS school (+23) since 2011. Given Monday’s result, Clemson will be looking for more of a blowout Saturday.
Lots of Clemson true freshmen should see their first career snaps Saturday, including many who didn’t travel for Monday’s season opener at Duke. On offense, keep an eye out for former four-star quarterback recruit Christopher Vizzina — widely considered Klubnik’s successor — and the wide receiver trio of Misun “Tink” Kelley, Noble Johnson and Ronan Hanafin. Defensive end David Ojiegbe drew lots of praise from Swinney during fall camp, as did defensive tackle Stephiylan Green.
Ahead of Saturday’s game, Clemson will cut the ribbon on the new Tiger Walk, which has been transformed from a temporary setup leading into the west side of Memorial Stadium into a 24/7 exhibit. Players have been walking into the stadium and interacting with fans along the way since 2008, Swinney’s interim coach year. The new Tiger Walk features an arch, concrete walkway and the name of every Clemson team captain through 2022 inscribed in plaques on both sides of the walkway.
Clemson vs. Charleston Southern players to watch
Clemson WR Antonio Williams: The shifty slot man was Klubnik’s favorite target Monday with seven catches for 56 yards (11 targets) but only had only catch over 18 yards. Can he rack up a few big plays against the Bucs?
Clemson DE T.J. Parker: For all the talk of Peter Woods, Parker, a freshman defensive end, was just as good. He had two tackles and two quarterback pressures against the Blue Devils and should get lots of playing time Saturday, given the opponent.
Charleston Southern RB JD Moore: The Bucs’ starting running back had 17 carries for 105 yards (long of 49) in a season-opening win over Division II North Greenville. Moore also returned five punts for 55 yards (long of 19)
Charleston Southern DL Laron Davis: Davis was excellent in CSU’s opener with four tackles, two sacks and an interception. That’s already two more sacks than he had in 10 games last season.
Clemson 2023 football schedule
Sept. 4: Duke 28, Clemson 7
Sept. 9: vs. Charleston Southern, 2:15 p.m., ACC Network
Sept. 16: vs. Florida Atlantic, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Sept. 23: vs. Florida State
Sept. 30: at Syracuse
Oct. 7: vs. Wake Forest
Oct. 14: OPEN
Oct. 21: at Miami
Oct. 28: at N.C. State
Nov. 4: vs. Notre Dame
Nov. 11: vs. Georgia Tech
Nov. 18: vs. North Carolina
Nov. 25: vs. South Carolina
Clemson 2023 depth chart
Offense
QB: Cade Klubnik (Hunter Helms)
RB: Will Shipley OR Phil Mafah (Domonique Thomas)
Outside WR: Beaux Collins (Brannon Spector OR Troy Stellato)
Outside WR: Adam Randall OR Cole Turner (Hampton Earle)
Slot WR: Antonio Williams (Tyler Brown)
TE: Jake Briningstool (Sage Ennis)
LT: Tristan Leigh OR Collin Sadler
LG: Marcus Tate (Trent Howard)
C: Will Putnam (Ryan Linthicum OR Trent Howard)
RG: Walker Parks (Mitchell Mayes)
RT: Blake Miller (Mitchell Mayes)
Defense
DE: Xavier Thomas (T.J. Parker)
DT: Tyler Davis OR Peter Woods (Payton Page)
DT: Ruke Orhorhoro OR Peter Woods (DeMonte Capehart)
DE: Justin Mascoll (Cade Denhoff)
Strong-side LB: Wade Woodaz (Jamal Anderson)
Middle LB: Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (Kobe McCloud OR Dee Crayton)
Weak-side LB: Barrett Carter (Wade Woodaz)
CB: Sheridan Jones (Toriano Pride Jr.)
SS: R.J. Mickens (Sherrod Covil Jr.)
FS: Jalyn Phillips (Kylon Griffin)
Nickelback: Andrew Mukuba (Khalil Barnes)
CB: Nate Wiggins (Jeadyn Lukus)
Special teams
PK: Robert Gunn III (Quinn Castner)
P: Aidan Swanson (Jack Smith)
KO: Robert Gunn III (Aidan Swanson)
LS (PK): Holden Caspersen (Philip Florenzo)
LS (P): Philip Florenzo (Holden Caspersen)
H: Clay Swinney
PR: Antonio Williams (Tyler Brown)
KOR: Will Shipley (Tyler Brown)
This story was originally published September 8, 2023 at 10:45 AM with the headline "Clemson football vs. Charleston Southern: Kickoff time, TV channel, stream, score."
