Clemson heads into the 2026 season hoping to bounce back from a 7-6 record in 2025, the second-worst season in head coach Dabo Swinney’s full 17 seasons. Following a 1-3 and then 3-5 start, Clemson won its last four regular season games in 2025 as the program became bowl eligible for a 27th consecutive season, before finishing the year with a 22-10 loss to Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl.
Considering how things transpired for the Tigers last year, after being ranked No. 4 in the preseason AP Poll and coming into the season with national championship expectations, ESPN recently ranked Clemson as the No.