Here comes the class of the ACC.

Duke plays host to No. 9 Clemson on Monday night to open the season. The Tigers have won seven of the last eight ACC championships, two national championships in that span, and have been ranked in the top 5 at some juncture of each of those seasons.

You can count on one hand the number of ACC losses Clemson has had in the last eight years. It’s five — and that includes the one season that Notre Dame was given a life raft during a pandemic (2020).

“They've accomplished as much as any ACC program has since the ACC has come together like this in this manner,” Duke coach Mike Elko said of Clemson. “To get them in the opener, I think is an opportunity for our program, but it's also a huge challenge.”

Here are five things to know about Clemson ahead of Monday night’s game:

Talking about Clemson this season starts with talking about a quarterback with one career start and a new offensive coordinator.

Cade Klubnik played in 10 games last season, mostly in spot duty behind DJ Uiagalelei before starting against Tennessee in the Orange Bowl. He was 30 of 54 for 320 yards and had 20 rushes for 51 yards against the Vols in a 31-14 loss.

While Klubnik’s lone start was a loss, it was his performance in the ACC championship game against North Carolina — 20 of 24, 279 yards, 30 rushing yards, one touchdown doing each — that earned him MVP honors and sets the stage for his first season as a starter.

That’s who new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley — brother of USC coach Lincoln Riley — inherits as he coaches his first game at Clemson.

Riley spent one season at TCU, in which the Horned Frogs reached the national championship game last season. In 2021, TCU had the No. 65 scoring offense; last season’s 38.8 points per game was ninth. Riley’s other two seasons as an offensive coordinator came in 2020-21 at SMU, where his teams were top 15 in the country in scoring and offensive yards both years.

Klubnik is bound to air it out and if you find a Riley brother who doesn’t enjoy a high-octane passing attack, he’ll be the first.

But Clemson’s offensive strength is in its backfield.

Will Shipley is an All-ACC running back who became the ninth player since 2003 to gain at least the following in a season: 1,150 rushing yards, 200 receiving yards, 300 kickoff return yards. His company in that group includes Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey (twice), and Reggie Bush.

It won’t just be the 5-11, 210-pound Shipley to worry about.

Phil Mafah is 6-1, 230 and as good of a change-of-pace backup as there is in the ACC. He’s a junior who’s rushed for 807 yards on 166 carries (4.9 yards per carry) in his career.

At TCU last season, Riley had Kendre Miller rush for 1,399 yards and 17 touchdowns; his backup, Emari Demercado, had 681 yards and six touchdowns.

Antonio Williams had 56 catches for 604 yards last season and was Clemson’s leader in both categories as a freshman. Beaux Collins missed four games and had 22 catches for 373 yards in the 10 that he played.

They are projected to be Clemson’s top receivers this season.

Clemson has recruited talent at their receiver positions but it hasn’t materialized to that level on the field for the last few seasons. Uiagalelei had his share of accuracy problems and offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter was hastily moved aside after one season, but every offensive issue the Tigers had over the last two seasons wasn’t erased with the replacements discussed in the first topic of this list.

Clemson wants to get back to top echelon of the country when it comes to scoring points.

Its defense is the area where the Tigers haven’t slipped, and that starts with the front-7.

Up the middle, Clemson should be as good as any team in the country. Defensive tackles Tyler Davis and Ruke Orhorhoro are experienced starters, and freshman Peter Woods has generated the most preseason buzz of the Tigers’ newcomers.

Linebackers Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Barrett Carter were preseason All-ACC selections (as was Davis). Trotter led Clemson in tackles (92) and TFLs (13½) last season, and Carter was close behind with 77 tackles and 10½ TFLs; both had two interceptions.

Clemson was third in the ACC in run defense last season (102.9 yards allowed per game); Duke was fourth (120.9).

As you’d expect, the records look pristine when evaluating the Tigers. A few of the highlights:

- Clemson is 12-2 in season openers under coach Dabo Swinney. The losses were in 2014 and 2021, both to Georgia, and are the most-recent seasons Clemson didn’t win the ACC championship.

- Clemson is 42-6 when facing a head coach for the first time since 2011; two of those losses came in the last three instances, with Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman and Tennessee’s Josh Heupel notching wins against Clemson last season.

(this is the first time Elko will face Clemson as a head coach, though he had three games against the Tigers when he was Wake Forest’s defensive coordinator, and two games when he was at Texas A&M.)

- Swinney is 35-3 in his head coaching career against teams from North Carolina. N.C. State has beaten him twice (in 2021 and 2011), and UNC beat his team in 2010.

- Clemson has won eight straight ACC openers; six of those have been by at least 19 points, including last year’s 41-10 win over Georgia Tech.