Stanford Coach ‘Excited’ About Clemson, Calls it ‘Epic’ Place

Stanford coach Troy Taylor and his Cardinal players participated in their first ACC media day on Tuesday in Charlotte.

Jul 23, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; Stanford head coach Troy Taylor answers questions from the media during the ACC Kickoff at Hilton Charlotte Uptown. / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Stanford knows there will be challenges when it comes to being one of the western members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

One of them will be the Clemson Tigers. Another will be the travel to go face the Clemson Tigers.

The Cardinal may have drawn the short straw in its first ACC season. Stanford will have to play three games on the east coast when it comes to football.

Stanford will open its league slate in Syracuse when it faces the Orange on Sept. 20. The following Saturday, it’s the trip to Clemson.

Then, on Nov. 2, the Cardinal returns to the east coast to face NC State.

Stanford coach Troy Taylor knows what’s coming. Still, he’s excited about the challenge and facing teams like Clemson in the ACC.

“Our guys will adapt,” Taylor said. “There's been harder things to overcome. We're just excited, really grateful to be in this conference, to play against great teams. We get to travel to three great venues, Syracuse, Clemson and North Carolina State.”

Taylor said the team has never traveled from one coast to the other on back-to-back weekends. Sometimes, an NFL team will remain on the opposite coast if it has back-to-back games on that side of the country.

That won’t be the plan for Stanford. After all, Cardinal players have class.

 “We have a pretty good plan,” Taylor said. “We're going to go out a day early. On a Saturday game, we'll go out on Thursday. Fly in the evening, hopefully get our players acclimated the next day, then we pick up three hours flying back to the West Coast.”

Cardinal quarterback Ashton Daniels compared it to a recent game in Hawai’i, which requires a six-hour flight there and back.

Taylor told media in Charlotte and he is especially looking forward to the game at Clemson Memorial Stadium, a player he’s only seen on TV.

“It is one of those epic places,” Taylor said. “We see them on television a lot. We are excited to go to a challenging, hostile environment. I think, as a kid, it’s one of those places you dream about playing. We also realize it will be a huge challenge as well.”

Before facing Stanford, Clemson opens the season on Aug. 31 in Atlanta against Georgia. After the opener the Tigers return home for three straight games — vs. Appalachian State on Sept. 7, vs. NC State on Sept. 21 to open ACC play and then the Stanford game.

The rest of the schedule includes trips to Florida State Oct. 5 and Wake Forest on Oct. 12, followed two straight home contests with Virginia on Oct. 19 and Louisville on Nov. 2. Clemson then travels to Virginia Tech on Nov. 9 and Pitt on Nov. 16, followed by home games with The Citadel on Nov. 23 and South Carolina on Nov. 30.