Clemson football vs. Stanford: Kick time, TV channel, injury report, weather

The Clemson football team is finishing off a three-game homestand against a first-time ACC opponent this weekend.

Here’s everything you need to know for the No. 17 Tigers’ home game against Stanford on Saturday night (which, despite Hurricane Helene-related weather impact, remains on track as planned).

Clemson vs. Stanford game, TV info

• Who: No. 17 Clemson (2-1, 1-0 ACC) vs. Stanford (2-1, 1-0 ACC)

• When: 7 p.m. Saturday

• Where: Memorial Stadium in Clemson

• TV: ESPN

• Broadcast crew: Mark Jones, Roddy Jones, Quint Kessenich

• Stream: Via ESPN or the ESPN app

• Radio: 105.5 FM in the Clemson area (see all Clemson radio affiliates here)

• Satellite radio: SiriusXM Channel 139 or 194

• Series history: Clemson leads 1-0

Clemson vs. Stanford Vegas odds

As of Friday morning, Clemson is currently favored by 21.5 points against Stanford, according to the VegasInsider.com consensus line. The line’s moved down slightly from Clemson -22.5.

This will be Clemson’s third straight game as a betting favorite of 17-plus points (all home games). The Tigers were favored by 17 points against both App State and NC State and covered those spreads comfortably, winning by 36 points and 24 points, respectively.

Weather forecast for Clemson SC

Most forecasts have Upstate South Carolina bearing the brunt of Hurricane Helene’s impact (in the form of heavy rain and winds) overnight Thursday and early Friday.

The current forecast for Saturday night in Clemson, per Weather.com: 64 degrees and cloudy with “occasional rain showers,” light and variable winds and a 50% chance of rain. There’s only a 15% chance of rain during the day Saturday.

Top storylines for the game

• This is the most injured Clemson’s been as a team heading into a game this season. Coach Dabo Swinney said he “absolutely” feels good about freshman wide receiver Bryant Wesco Jr. playing against Stanford after Wesco sat out most of last week’s NC State game with soreness (but could’ve played if necessary). Outside of him, though, there are three key starters whose statuses are unknown: DE Peter Woods (leg/knee), WR Tyler Brown (ankle) and DT DeMonte Capehart (undisclosed). Additionally, top reserve offensive lineman Collin Sadler is dealing with a calf injury. Woods, Brown and Sadler all missed the NC State game, while Capehart was injured during that game.

• Those absences, of course, haven’t slowed Clemson down too much. The offense and defense have been working in harmony: The Tigers were the first FBS team in 20 years to end the first quarter leading by 28 or more points in consecutive games. They were up 35-0 after one quarter against App State, and 28-0 after a quarter against NC State. And with starting quarterback Cade Klubnik in the game, Clemson’s offense has scored on 16 of its 17 drives over the last two games (15 touchdowns and one field goal). The Tigers’ starting defense has been imperfect – especially on tackling and red zone defense – but it’s worth noting they held NC State to seven points at halftime and 14 points through three quarters (with primarily second-teamers in the game).

• This will be Clemson and Stanford’s second meeting ever and first as conference members. The Cardinal were one of three schools who agreed to join the ACC for the 2024-25 athletic year last fall along with Cal and SMU. Stanford and Cal joined from the Pac-12 – which was on the brink of extinction after eight other schools jumped to the Big 12 or Big Ten – and SMU joined from the American Athletic. The only other meeting between Clemson and Stanford came in the 1986 Gator Bowl (Clemson won 27-21).

• Swinney is coming up on two big achievements and could reach them Saturday with a win. In his 16th full season and 17th overall season as Clemson’s coach, he is one win away from reaching 100 career home wins (currently 99-9) and one win away from tying Bobby Bowden’s record for career total wins at an ACC program. Bowden won 173 total games at Florida State during the Seminoles’ ACC membership (since 1992). Swinney is currently 172-44 all-time at Clemson.

Clemson vs. Stanford players to watch

• Clemson WR Bryant Wesco Jr.: The rangy true freshman from Texas is a major big-play threat and became the first Tiger with multiple plays of 50-plus yards from scrimmage in a game in three years against App State.

• Clemson LB Wade Woodaz: Taking on the largest role of his career, Woodaz has really impressed and outpaced fellow linebacker Barrett Carter in the process. He’s started all three games and has a team-high 20 tackles

• Stanford WR Elic Ayomanor: He’s standout quarterback Ashton Daniels’ top target for a reason. Ayomanor is a matchup nightmare at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds and had a program-record 294 receiving yards in a single game last year.

• Stanford DB Mitch Leigber: The veteran has started all three games at nickelback this year and had a massive 71-yard interception return for a touchdown against Syracuse last year, the Cardinal’s first defensive TD since 2021.

Clemson football 2024 schedule

• Aug. 31: vs. Georgia in Atlanta, L 34-3

• Sept. 7: vs. App State, W 66-20

• Sept. 14: OPEN

• Sept. 21: vs. NC State, W 59-35

• Sept. 28: vs. Stanford, 7 p.m. (ESPN)

• Oct. 5: at Florida State, 7 p.m. (ESPN) OR 7:30 p.m. (ABC)

• Oct. 12: at Wake Forest

• Oct. 19: vs. Virginia

• Oct. 26: OPEN

• Nov. 2: vs. Louisville

• Nov. 9: at Virginia Tech

• Nov. 16: at Pitt

• Nov. 23: vs. The Citadel

• Nov. 30: vs. South Carolina

Clemson football 2024 depth chart

As of Sept. 23

Offense

QB: Cade Klubnik (Christopher Vizzina)

RB: Phil Mafah (Keith Adams Jr. OR Jay Haynes)

Outside WR: Antonio Williams (T.J. Moore)

Slot WR: Tyler Brown OR Troy Stellato (Misun Kelley)

Outside WR: Bryant Wesco Jr. (Cole Turner)

TE: Jake Briningstool (Olsen Patt-Henry)

LT: Tristan Leigh OR Collin Sadler (Elyjah Thurmon)

LG: Marcus Tate OR Collin Sadler (Trent Howard)

C: Ryan Linthicum (Harris Sewell)

RG: Walker Parks (Trent Howard)

RT: Blake Miller (Collin Sadler)

Defense

DE: Peter Woods (Jaheim Lawson)

DT: Payton Page OR Tré Williams (Vic Burley)

DT: DeMonte Capehart OR Tré Williams (Stephiylan Green)

DE: T.J. Parker (Cade Denhoff)

Strongside LB: Wade Woodaz (Jamal Anderson)

Middle LB: Wade Woodaz (Sammy Brown OR Dee Crayton)

Weakside LB: Barrett Carter (Sammy Brown OR Dee Crayton)

CB: Avieon Terrell (Shelton Lewis)

SS: Kylon Griffin OR Tyler Venables (Ricardo Jones)

FS: R.J. Mickens (Rob Billings)

Nickelback: Khalil Barnes (Shelton Lewis)

CB: Jeadyn Lukus (Ashton Hampton)

Special teams

PK: Nolan Hauser (Robert Gunn III)

P: Aidan Swanson (Jack Smith)

KO: Robert Gunn III

LS (PK): Holden Caspersen

LS (P): Philip Florenzo

H: Clay Swinney

PR: Antonio Williams

KOR: Phil Mafah (Jay Haynes)