Brandon Maye, a key member of the Clemson Tigers’ defense, will not be on the field for Saturday’s season opener.

Instead, he’ll spend Wednesday having minor knee surgery.

Maye, a linebacker, experienced swelling following Monday’s practice. Clemson announced Tuesday that Maye will undergo surgery Wednesday and is out of Saturday’s game against North Texas.

Maye set a school record last season with five forced fumbles. He recorded 103 tackles, helping the Tigers reach the Atlantic Coast Conference title game.

The Tigers believe Maye could be back in time for the Sept. 11 game against Presbyterian.

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In the end, it’s all worked out just fine for Kyle Parker.

The sophomore will get to quarterback the Clemson Tigers in their quest to return to the Atlantic Coast Conference title game in 2010. When spring 2011 dawns, Parker will trade his shoulder pads for a bat and glove.

Parker signed with the Colorado Rockies late Monday night, agreeing on a $1.4 million signing bonus that allows him to return to campus to play quarterback for 2010 and beyond. Should he go into the beyond and line up under center for the Tigers in 2011, he would forfeit part of that bonus.

The Rockies offered Parker $2.25 million in July, but with the stipulation he could not play football. Parker, who passed for 2,526 yards and 20 touchdowns a year ago, refused.

Clemson plays host to North Texas in the season opener Sept. 4.

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Back to the Atlantic Coast Conference title game? Sixteen voters who took part in the ACC media’s predicted order of finish see it happening for the Clemson Tigers.

And like last year, all 16 see the Tigers falling short of the crown.

In voting for the predicted order of finish, more voters saw the Tigers finishing outside of the title chase. Florida State earned the most points for first place in the Atlantic Division, followed by the Tigers, Boston College, N.C. State, Wake Forest and Maryland.

On the other side of the conference, Virginia Tech was the popular pick to win the Coastal Division. Miami finished second in the voting, followed by defending conference champion Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Duke and Virginia.

The Tigers open the new season at home against North Texas on Sept. 4. Clemson begins its ACC slate on Oct. 2 against Miami, also at home.

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Back and forth in a close game for the first 27 minutes, the Clemson Tigers finally buckled under the pressure of the Missouri defense.

The Tigers committed 20 turnovers, got outscored 22-2 on fast-break points and lost the battle in the paint, too. Add it all up, and it was enough to end Clemson’s season 86-78 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Buffalo, N.Y.

Clemson (21-11) entered the tournament as the seventh seed, but for the third consecutive season ended up losing to a lower seed in the opening round.

Down 54-50 with 13 minutes to go, the Tigers were hanging tough. But Missouri broke it open with a 15-5 run.

Demontez Stitt scored 21 points to lead the Tigers, while Andre Young added 19 and Jerai Grant scored 12.

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Led by senior Trevon Booker, the Tigers rallied from a poor start to edge the Seminoles. 53-50, on Sunday. Booker recorded a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, hit four free throws down the stretch, and blocked the potential game-tying 3-pointer with five seconds left to seal the win. The performance has been what fans and coaches alike have come to expect from Booker, who consistently makes his presence felt on both ends of the court by out-working his opponents.

He had help from sophomore guard Andre Young, who buried a 3-pointer with 30 seconds remaining to give Clemson a 2-point lead. The win ensures that the Tigers will finish with no worse than a .500 record in the ACC, and bolsters their already-solid NCAA Tournament resume, which includes wins over Butler and Maryland.

With a jumbled middle of the pack in the conference, a win on Senior Night against Georgia Tech on Tuesday would go a long way towards securing a top seed in the ACC tournament. No matter the outcome, though, one thing is for sure: Booker will go out swinging in LittleJohn Colliseum.

Mission accomplished.

The Tigers completed a perfect stretch in the friendly confines by routing the Virginia Cavaliers 72-49 on Saturday. The win puts Clemson back in the top half of the ACC, and bumps its record to 19-7 and 7-5 in the conference.

Jerai Grant scored a career-high 18 points in the win for the Tigers, who shot 52 percent from the floor and an astonishing 12 of 13 from the free throw line.

While winning these three games was huge for the Tigers, it doesn’t guarantee them anything. With road games against Maryland, Florida State and Wake Forest sandwiching a lone home game against Georgia Tech, it’s not hard to envision losing three or even all four of those games. Clemson is certainly in better shape than it was 10 days ago, but it cannot afford to get complacent or it will be on the outside looking in come Selection Sunday.