Editor’s note: Saturday Road’s annual Crystal Ball series begins today with Clemson. We’ll stay with the ACC Atlantic all week. Next week, we’ll predict every game for every ACC Coastal team.

Leave it to that old country philosopher Dabo Swinney to bring Clemson’s “down” 2021 season into perspective.

“I won 6 games my second year as the head coach. I won 6 games as the head coach,” he said, remembering back to 2010. “There were a lot of people on the message boards wanting me gone. Right? Then next year we won the ACC for the first time in 20 years. We won 10 games for the first time in 20 years. Now we win 10 games, and they want to fire me.”

Yes, the bar has been raised considerably at Death Valley.

Any other program in the conference outside of the two that played for the championship last December would have considered a 10-3 campaign with the only losses coming to the eventual national champion, the eventual ACC champion and a division rival on the road in double overtime a rousing success.

But after 6 straight league titles and College Football Playoff appearances, that’s just not good enough.

Dabo was exaggerating about his coaching seat getting hot, of course. But that won’t lessen the urgency he feels heading into what the folks in Tigertown hope will be a bounce-back 2022 season.

Expectations remain as high as ever. But now that Clemson has been reminded that its perch atop the ACC is a goal to be earned rather than a birthright, how will it respond – especially with two new coordinators to break in, an offense in need of repair and the potential of a quarterback controversy brewing?

Let’s take a closer look.

Was this the right time to hire from within?

Swinney called it a “no brainer” and said it only took him “about 30 seconds” to decide to elevate members of his staff rather than interviewing outside candidates for the offensive and defensive coordinator openings he faced after the departures of Tony Elliott to Virginia and Brent Venables to Oklahoma.

It’s a decision that will take only about 30 seconds for the second-guessing to start if the hires don’t work out and things start to go south.

Neither Brandon Streeter on offense nor Wes Goodman on defense has previously served as a coordinator. Goodman, who has been Clemson’s senior defensive assistant since 2018, has never been so much as a position coach during his career.

But Swinney has put his faith in both, saying both have earned and deserve the promotions. He answers those questioning the moves by telling them to trust him.

“We’re going to be just fine,” he said. “If people don’t believe in me after 13 years of what they’ve experienced at Clemson, they ain’t never gonna believe in me.”

Of the two new coordinators, Goodman figures to have the best odds for success because of the defense he inherits. It’s a star-studded, veteran unit stocked with NFL-caliber talent, including preseason All-ACC linemen Bryan Bresee, Myles Murphy and linebacker Trenton Simpson.

Streeter’s prospects are aided by his experience as the Tigers’ quarterbacks coach since 2015, a tenure in which he has worked with future first-round NFL draft picks Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence and recruited current passers DJ Uiagalelei and Cade Klubnik.

Clemson’s offensive issues, however, go far beyond the quarterback situation. The Tigers ranked next-to-last in the ACC with an average of 359.1 yards per game and ranked in the bottom half of the league in scoring for the first time in more than a decade.

It’s up to Streeter to decide whether that disappointing performance was more the product of injuries or if there are deeper issues. If it’s the latter, he’s the one that will have to come up with a way to fix the problem.

DJU is QB1 until _____.

If you’re a coach or, in this case, a starting quarterback who’s job is on the line, the last thing you want to hear from your boss is a vote of confidence. Those kinds of public statements are more often than not a bad sign for the person involved.

That’s why it would be wise for Uiagalelei to get off to a fast start this season.

Swinney spent a considerable portion of his time with the media at the ACC’s preseason kickoff event last month talking up the junior quarterback.

He’s healthy. He’s lost weight and is in better shape. He’s more experienced. He’s learned from his mistakes. The coach repeatedly expressed his belief in his QB1 (for now) and predicted a big year from him.

The statements are hauntingly similar to those Swinney made in support of Kelly Bryant in 2018.

And you remember how that turned out.

Despite going 19-2 as a starter, Bryant was abruptly replaced by Lawrence – the nation’s No. 1 recruit as his position – after struggling early in a Week 4 game against Georgia Tech. With another No. 1 national prospect waiting in the wings and Uiagalelei coming off a season in which he threw more interceptions (10) than touchdowns (9), Swinney is likely to have an equally short leash in this situation.

With three soft touches to start the season before facing top Atlantic Division threats Wake Forest and NC State in back-to-back weeks, Uiagalelei will have an opportunity to find a rhythm and solidify his hold on the position. But one tweaked ankle or early interception and he’ll find himself standing on the sideline watching Cade Klubnik.

It feels like a matter when, not if.

Secondary education

Clemson’s defense was the best in the ACC and one of the most feared in college football last season, and with a slew of legitimate NFL prospects returning, especially up front, there’s no reason to expect anything different in 2022.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any questions to be answered.

Other than the health of star tackle Bryan Bresee, the biggest uncertainty surrounds a secondary that will have to find replacements for three departed starters from a year ago. While there’s still plenty of talent to fill in the holes around the only holdover, sophomore safety Andrew Mukuba, it will be less experienced than in the past.

Among the candidates to join Mukaba at safety are Jalyn Philips, who had a career-high 8 tackles in the Tigers’ Cheez-Its Bowl win against Iowa State last December, and early enrolling freshman Sherrod Covil. Senior Sheridan Jones, junior Malcolm Greene, sophomore Nate Wiggins and junior Fred Davis II are all in the mix at cornerback.

Whoever ends up earning the bulk of the playing time will benefit greatly from a dominant front and linebacking corps that will significantly decrease the amount of time they’ll have to cover receivers by making life difficult for even the best quarterbacks they’ll face this season.

Game-by-game predictions

Week 1: vs. Georgia Tech at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (W)

For the second straight year, the Tigers open the season in a neutral site game against a team from Georgia. This one won’t be as challenging. Or close. Clemson will take advantage of its opportunity to solidify its top 5 preseason ranking and get an early conference win by putting a hurting on the bottom-feeding Yellow Jackets.

Week 2: vs. Furman (W)

The first game in Clemson’s football history was against the Paladins on October 31, 1896. The Tigers won 14-6. This one, which amounts to little more than a scrimmage against a FCS Upstate neighbor, won’t be nearly that close.

Week 3: vs. Louisiana Tech (W)

The Tigers couldn’t have picked a more advantageous opponent to play before jumping into the meat of its ACC schedule. The Bulldogs ranked 117th out of 130 FBS teams nationally in pass defense last season, allowing an average of 267.8 yards per game and 25 touchdowns through the air. They should provide either Uiagalelei or Klubnik if a change has already been made to put up big numbers and gain some confidence before heading to Winston-Salem.

Week 4: at Wake Forest (W)

It doesn’t matter if Sam Hartman is back in time for this game or not. No disrespect to the defending Atlantic Division champions, but when it comes to the Clemson-Wake Forest series, the Tigers are the Harlem Globetrotters and the Deacons are the Washington Generals. The last time Clemson lost in this series, Tommy Bowden was fired as coach the next day. That was 14 years ago. Over the past 4 meetings, the Tigers have won by a combined margin of 200-46. Put Clemson’s 14th consecutive win over Wake down in Sharpie.

Week 5: vs. NC State (W)

The Tigers have been waiting an entire year for this game. Not only did they lose in double overtime to essentially end their ACC championship and Playoff hopes, mustering only 214 total offensive yards, but they also lost star defenders Bresee and linebacker James Skalski, along with running back Will Shipley to injuries. It still stings and they can’t wait to exact some revenge. It won’t be easy. The Wolfpack are the most experienced team in the league, especially on defense, and quarterback Devin Leary is the preseason league Player of the Year. It’s going to be a fight, but the home-field advantage at Death Valley, where State hasn’t won since 2002, will ultimately be what puts Clemson over the top.

Week 6: at Boston College (W)

If there’s a trap game on the Tigers’ schedule, this is it. It’s on the road a week after a difficult game both physically and emotionally, and it’s against a team that, unlike Wake Forest, gave Clemson a tough time each of the past 2 times they’ve played. It’s going to take a big effort by the defense to pull this one out, but they’re up to the task.

Week 7: at Florida State (W)

This used to be the marquee game on the Atlantic Division schedule, but it has lost its luster lately with the dramatic decline of Florida State’s program. The Seminoles appear to be on their way back up the ACC standings but haven’t progressed far enough yet to beat an elite opponent like Clemson – even in Tallahassee. They’ll stay close for a while, but the Tigers’ superior talent will take over.

Week 8: vs. Syracuse (W)

Clemson had to hang on for dear life to beat the Orange last year, surviving a missed 47-yard field goal in the final minute to avoid overtime. Running back Sean Tucker and quarterback Garrett Shrader both had productive games for Syracuse that day and both are back, But playing at Death Valley is a lot different than indoors at the Carrier Dome.

Week 9: Open

Week 10: at Notre Dame (L)

Uiagalelei returns to the scene of his most memorable performance, when he stepped in for a COVID-infected Lawrence in 2020 and threw for 439 yards and 2 touchdowns. Even that wasn’t enough to get the Tigers the victory. Notre Dame won in overtime. It’s a 50-50 proposition if DJU will still be the starter this late into the season. But it might not matter who’s playing quarterback. The Irish have amassed at least 20 takeaways in 4 of the past 5 seasons, including 25 last season, and their new head coach Marcus Freeman was their defensive coordinator. This is an unfavorable matchup for Clemson, especially in South Bend.

Week 11: vs. Louisville (W)

The Tigers had their hands full with Cardinals quarterback Malik Cunningham last year and might have lost had Cunningham not gotten injured with his team ahead 24-17 in the third quarter. Uiagalelei led a fourth-quarter comeback to pull out a 6-point victory. This year’s game should be just as close, but again, the home-field advantage will make the difference.

Week 12: vs. Miami (W)

The Hurricanes have all the elements necessary to pull off the upset, but with the Tigers knowing they can’t afford another loss to have a shot at the Playoff and the Canes looking ahead to a possible Coastal Division title showdown with Pittsburgh the following week, it’s just not going to happen.

Week 13: vs. South Carolina (W)

The Tigers have been the hammer of late and the Gamecocks are the nail in this state rivalry, with Clemson having won 7 straight – including a 30-0 shellacking in Columbia last season. The series figures to start getting closer now that Shane Beamer appears to have gotten South Carolina heading back in the right direction. But he still has more work to do before he’s able to get the nail into a position of hammering back.

2022 projection: 11-1 (8-0), 1st in ACC Atlantic

#ClemsonFamily

Yes, I know I’m not going very far out on a limb by picking the team that is always picked to win the league and go to the College Football Playoff.

But trust me, unlike Swinney’s decision on filling his coordinators positions, it took a lot longer than 30 seconds to make the prediction.

This is clearly not a typically dominant Clemson team, at least on offense, and the question of how quickly and smoothly the two rookie coordinators adjust to their new roles is a big one. But there is so much talent on the defensive side of the ball that the Tigers should be able to get by even if its offense is only so-so. And it projects to be better than just that with a healthy Shipley ready to blossom in the running game and a safety net in Klubnik if Uiagalelei struggles again.

It also doesn’t hurt that the schedule works in their favor. Instead of jumping right into a nationally significant game in Week 1 as they did last year, they’ll have the opportunity to ease into the season with three straight soft touches. And their two most challenging conference games – against NC State and Coastal Division favorite Miami – are both at home.

The Tigers are a hungry team after what happened to them last season and it’s going to take more than just 10 wins for them to be satisfied. They’re motivated to restore order and bring the ACC championship trophy back where they believe it belongs.