Josh Pate gives his official predictions for Clemson in 2023

The 247Sports analyst gives his take on the Tigers' upcoming season.

Josh Pate, the host of the Late Kick podcast and 247Sports National Analyst, has released not just his official prediction for what the Tigers' record will be come December but also his best and worst-case scenarios for how this season could play out. Pate, like many others, sees this year as one that could set the future tone of this program for years to come, especially with a school like Florida State now on the rise. His variance between all 3 categories will show you that Clemson is going to have more eyes on them and their performances this year because their performance could shape so much.

Pate's Best Case Scenario: 12-0

Reasoning: "If you're gonna be favored in every game you play, which they're projected to be right now, your best case is an undefeated season. That's pretty cut and dry. This would include them obviously having the offseason acquisition of Garrett Riley pan out. Cade Klubnik kinda becomes this year's Max Duggan, that was the quarterback that Riley had there at TCU last year...Wide Receiver really needs to shine for them to go undefeated, defensive line, that depth we talked about, needs to go from just names to proven production."

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Pate's Worst Case Scenario: 7-5

Reasoning: "7-5 would be wild. That would be like earth-shattering. And it would kind of shake the foundation of the ACC in the process. So, what if those names and depth along the defensive line don't pan out? So Clemson does not own the line of scrimmage defensively. What if at the same time, the Garrett Riley hire really isn't the spark that starts the fire again that you expect offensively? What if Cade Klubnik and Riley just never really mesh?... I got all the faith, hope, and confidence in the world in Garrett Riley I'm just saying if we're going to acknowledge best case, there's a worst case where that happens."

Pate's Most Likely Scenario: 10-2

Reasoning: "My instinct is 11-1 because my instinct is when you have a little bit of a setback and then you make very radical change like Dabo Swinney did, pulling the lever on his own internally elevated hires, and going with Garrett Riley. It's just instinct for me to say' alright they'll be right back there in the title picture this year.' and maybe they will be but they don't have the easiest of schedules this year guys... How many dominant position rooms does Clemson have? In the past, quarterback's been a slam dunk, defensive line's been a slam dunk, there have been years where wide receiver's have been a slam dunk, I couldn't say that about any of those rooms right now. I could say it about linebacker. I think Clemson's got a dominant linebacker room, that's about it. You know what I mean when I say dominant? I mean elite, not in terms of potential, in terms of what they are entering the season. I think they do have the potential that's why I'm going 10-2 but it's potential and potential only right now."