A year ago, Clemson football spent its bowl season in the freezing cold New York winter. With preseason hopes of playing for a berth in the 2025 College Football Playoff dashed before the end of September, the Tigers visited Yankee Stadium for the Pinstripe Bowl instead of the Peach Bowl.
As the Tigers' 2026 season spirals following another loss in Week 8, a last-minute 20-16 heartbreaker at the hands of Virginia Tech, it's looking more and more like Clemson will have to settle for a second- or third-tier bowl game for the second consecutive season.
The loss to Virginia Tech, Clemson's first since 2007, dropped the Tigers to 4-3 with games remaining against Florida State, Syracuse, Georgia Tech, Duke and South Carolina. Getting to six wins to automatically
qualify for a bowl game is hardly a stretch, but the Tigers are mired in one of the program's worst slumps on offense.
The decision to bring back Chad Morris as offensive coordinator, an already less than enthusiastic hire at the time the announcement was made by many fans and pundits, has been a disaster. Dabo Swinney has no plans to replace Morris as play-caller for the remainder of the season.
Clemson ranks 115th nationally in total offense and is dead last in the ACC (333.1 average yards per game). The Tigers have thrown just two -- two -- touchdown passes all season between Game 1 starter Christopher Vizzina and former four-star freshman Tait Reynolds, who has started the last five games.
Week 9 of the 2026 college football season brought another round of bowl game projections for Swinney's Tigers, including one from USA TODAY Sports that sees Clemson visiting another Major League Baseball stadium for a bowl game.
In his latest bowl game and playoff projections entering Week 9, USA TODAY Sports college football analyst Erick Smith sees the Tigers playing at historic Fenway Park in Boston in the Fenway Bowl on Dec. 26.
Clemson's projected opponent is East Carolina. The Pirates are 3-4 entering Week 9 and are coming off back-to-back losses to Memphis and UAB in American Athletic Conference play.
Clemson will look to get back in the win column in Week 9 when they visit Tallahassee for its annual rivalry game against Florida State (3-4, 1-3 ACC). Kickoff is 7 p.m. ET. The game can be seen on ACC Network.
Clemson vs Florida State football, ACC rivalry photos over the years
— Clemson Wire (@Clemson_Wire) October 28, 2026
📸 Melina Myers, USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con https://t.co/S6fz6uPLzM pic.twitter.com/CrHq0SuYKq
Clemson football schedule 2026
All times Eastern.
- Sept. 5: at LSU Tigers (L, 51-10)
- Sept. 12: vs. Georgia Southern Eagles (W, 22-7)
- Sept. 19: vs. North Carolina Tar Heels (W, 28-20)
- Sept. 25: at California Golden Bears (W, 24-10)
- Oct. 3: vs. Miami Hurricanes (L, 41-13)
- Oct. 17: vs. Charleston Southern Buccaneers (W, 37-0)
- Oct. 24: vs. Virginia Tech Hokies (L, 20-16)
- Oct. 31: at Florida State Seminoles, 7 p.m., ACC Network
- Nov. 7: at Syracuse Orange, noon, ESPN2
- Nov. 14: vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, TBA
- Nov. 20: at Duke Blue Devils, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
- Nov. 28: vs. South Carolina Gamecocks, TBA
Record: 4-3 overall, 2-2 ACC.
Dabo Swinney doesn’t regret Clemson not getting a QB in transfer portal
— Clemson Wire (@Clemson_Wire) October 28, 2026
📸 Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network , USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co https://t.co/KCbXHTrJTp pic.twitter.com/3iIIVG5hq8
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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: USA TODAY Sports projects Clemson football bowl game at historic venue
