After winning the 2024 ACC Championship and returning to the College Football Playoff that year, Clemson came into the 2025 season ranked No. 4 in the preseason AP Poll, picked by the media to repeat as conference champs, and expected to contend for the national title.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, they took a major step back with a highly disappointing 7-6 campaign in 2025 – the second-worst record in Dabo Swinney’s tenure as Clemson’s head coach. The season, perhaps fittingly, ended with a Pinstripe Bowl loss to a fellow 2025 disappointment in Penn State.
However, this ESPN writer expects Clemson to bounce back in the upcoming season.