Clemson wanted Week 0 football game before LSU opener, records show
On Monday night, the ACC released Clemson’s 2026 football schedule. There were no major changes to the Tigers’ 12 game dates or opponents.
Behind the scenes, though, Clemson had been pushing for an NCAA waiver that would’ve allowed coach Dabo Swinney and Tigers to play a Week 0 game before heading to LSU for their previously scheduled Week 1 opener, records show.
The waiver was denied in December 2025. Had the request been approved, Clemson likely would’ve played a home game against FCS Charleston Southern the last weekend of August before traveling to LSU, an athletics source told The State.
Emails obtained by The State via public records request show that Clemson athletic director Graham Neff and other administrators pushed in the fall for a waiver to play a 2026 Week 0 game, citing athlete recovery concerns related to the football team’s 2026 road game at Cal in Berkeley, California. A Week 0 game would’ve created an opportunity for a second off week.
Clemson’s road game at Cal will be the football team’s first West Coast ACC game since the conference expanded to add Stanford, Cal and SMU. The Tigers, like other ACC teams in recent years, will have to travel across three time zones.
Because of that looming West Coast trip — and the fact Clemson and most other college football teams only get one off week in 2026 instead of two (because of how the calendar breaks in 2026) — Clemson and Neff requested a waiver.
Playing in Week 0 would’ve given Clemson football a guaranteed second off week during the season, because the Tigers would be playing 12 games in 14 weeks instead of 12 games in 13 weeks.
Notably, the schedule change would’ve also given Clemson a more manageable season opener. This year’s opener at LSU marks the third season in a row and the fourth time in the past five years Swinney’s team will open against an SEC opponent. The Tigers are 0-3 in those games and have lost four of five openers overall.
Had the NCAA waiver been approved, a source said, Clemson likely would’ve approached Charleston Southern (an in-state school located 3.5 hours away) about moving their October 2026 game up to the last weekend of August 2026.
Since the waiver was denied, though, formal talks never happened.
Inside Clemson’s waiver request process, denial
Clemson executive senior associate athletic director Kyle Young, who is the football team’s schedule coordinator, wrote in an October email to the ACC that Clemson’s “rationale” for playing in Week 0 was to “create more recovery opportunity.”
Neff, at the NCAA’s request, also submitted a statement. Clemson’s athletic director revealed the Tigers had considered moving one of their 2026 non-conference games to an unnamed “international venue” but decided against it because it would’ve added “greater travel and challenges to student-athlete well-being.”
“Clemson will likely incur additional expenses if granted a waiver to move a contest to Week 0, but we believe the additional expense is warranted if it positively impacts student-athlete welfare,” Neff wrote in a letter dated Nov. 14.
The ACC ultimately submitted a group waiver request on behalf of Clemson and every other ACC school that plays a 2026 road game at either Stanford or Cal.
That blanket request was intended to give each school an opportunity to schedule a Week 0 non-conference game or be placed in a Week 0 ACC game, emails show.
The ACC’s request covered every non-West Coast team scheduled to play at Cal (Clemson, Pitt, Virginia and Wake Forest) and Stanford (Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State and SMU). The NCAA Division I football oversight committee denied the ACC’s group waiver during its early December meeting.
The ACC informed schools of the denial via email on Dec. 15. In total, the NCAA football oversight committee denied about 20 individual and group waivers from schools and conferences across the country asking to play in Week 0.
Starting the season in Week 0 has gained momentum as a concept in college football, given the length of the season and expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.
It was an extra-popular request for 2026, too, since most college football teams that don’t play in Week 0 this year will only get one off week. Clemson and most other programs had two off weeks during the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
LSU (which welcomes new coach Lane Kiffin this season) submitted a similar request to play a Week 0 game, per a report from TigerIllustrated. LSU, similar to Clemson, likely would’ve moved its home game against in-state FCS opponent McNeese State up from October to the last weekend of August 2026.
Is Clemson’s philosophy on marquee season openers changing?
Swinney has long touted the benefits of opening the season against a tough opponent like Georgia (2021, 2024) and LSU (2025, 2026). But he’s also been quick to point out a lot of other schools in Clemson football’s orbit don’t play those sort of games in Week 1, opting instead for a cushier opponent and easier win.
“I wouldn’t change it,” Swinney said after last year’s 17-10 home loss to LSU. “I mean, we could go play a team and win 42-6 and everybody feels good. … But there were some things that got exposed tonight that’ll make us better.”
The main intent of Clemson’s waiver, per emails, was to open up another “recovery opportunity.” Clemson’s first 2026 off week probably would’ve come after its LSU road game (Sept. 5) or Georgia Southern home game (Sept. 12) and ahead of ACC play. The ACC would’ve assigned Clemson another off week later in the fall.
But a Week 0 game against Charleston Southern would’ve had on-field benefits, too.
Clemson is coming off a 7-6 season and breaking in a new offensive coordinator (Chad Morris), a new starting quarterback (likely Christopher Vizzina) and 10 additional transfer portal players. It’s a critical year for the program at large.
Clemson historically plays a big non-conference game against Notre Dame or an SEC school, on top of its annual rivalry game vs. South Carolina. In recent years, those SEC games have overwhelmingly served as Clemson’s season openers, too.
Swinney was asked ahead of the Pinstripe Bowl if he and Clemson had given any thought to adjusting the timing of their early-season non-conference games.
“No, I mean, it is what it is,” Swinney said Dec. 26. “ Just play the schedule as it comes out and keep moving forward.”
This story was originally published January 29, 2026 at 11:48 AM.
