Dabo Swinney, the always-fired-up Tigers head coach, is ubiquitous—recruiting like crazy, bringing in old players, and even putting the Savannah Bananas out on the field for some good times. This off-season has not been boring. Swinney’s been working nonstop after a playoff run and another ACC championship, attempting to keep the Tigers atop the college football universe. There’s been some roster turnover—three in, six out through the transfer portal—but the foundation of last season’s team is intact, and the recruiting engine is roaring again. Clemson’s 2026 class is ranked No. 5 in the country. But it’s not only the recruiting road that’s red hot.
The Tigers are bringing back boatloads of production, which includes potentially the country’s top quarterback, a deep receiving corps, a 6-foot-8 tight end who converted from basketball, and a defense with three possible first-round NFL draft picks. And this is where the hype train gets going. All preseason rankings have Clemson ranked 3-5, and Vegas has the win total at 9.5, which seems low considering the talent available. The schedule is tough, sure, but anything short of a national title game appearance would be a disappointment for this team. And that’s when ESPN’s Bill Connelly came up with an idea for a reality check.
On May 29th, in the 1080 The FAN show, Bill Connelly spews some tough facts on the Tigers. “I’m not a big betting man on the futures, but if I was and I am, that there’s some Clemson Tasty Ticket stuff there,” the host reports. “To have a really special season and maybe be in that top two to three ranking at the end of the season,” he says.
For years, Dabo Swinney’s Tigers set the standard. Playoff bowls, national championships, NFL stars—the whole package. But the past couple of seasons? Something’s different. This team positively loads up with returning talent. Cade Klubnik is the quarterback again, and he has a deep pass-catching corps to distribute to, as well as a veteran offensive line. Now, that’s the type of back you want if you’re fantasizing about a playoff season.
Yes, they lost Phil Mafah to the NFL and reserved Jay Haynes due to injury, but promising young players like David Eziomume and Gideon Davidson still keep the running back corps deep—Davidson ranked as the No. 3 RB in the 2025 recruiting class, so there’s a lot of potential. Defensively, Clemson went all out by hiring Tom Allen as defensive coordinator. In terms of stopping the run last year, things were an issue, but with the résumé of Allen and newcomers such as Heldt (five sacks at Purdue last season), things are improving. Don’t forget about the schedule. Clemson starts with a huge clash with LSU, and if they succeed in that, the road to the playoff becomes much clearer.
“I’m still like from a number standpoint, they’re a little further down than they’re going to be in the polls, and I think the major reason for that is we’re using this tiny sample of like three deep passes against Texas as a reason to suddenly believe that they’re going to make big plays again,” says Connelly.
On paper, the Tigers are receiving a whole lot of preseason love, but if you do some digging into the numbers, they’re not as glittery as the polls would have you believe. Clemson’s passing game last year wasn’t necessarily setting the stat sheet on fire. Klubnik ended up with 3,639 yards and 27 touchdowns, which is good, but the offense tended to be more mechanical than explosive.
The deep ball, especially, was absent for extended periods. Then came the Texas game, and Klubnik burst forth with three gorgeous deep passes, including a 22-yard one to Antonio Williams. But let us tell you, three passes do not override a season’s worth of information. Clemson’s deepest pass in several games was approximately 30-40 yards, and most of their scoring drives were based on short and intermediate material. Even in their rout of Appalachian State, Klubnik’s longest pass was 76 yards, but that was an exception, not the rule. Connelly admits, “It’s like an old school bowl bump for Clemson in a way, even though they lost, and I’ll see if they’re capable of it. We’re going to see it this year, but I’m not buying in all the way yet.”
Cade Klubnik spearheaded a relentless comeback for Clemson, throwing three touchdown passes and bringing the Tigers back into a touchdown deficit early in the fourth quarter, despite being down big—1-031 at one stage. Clemson seemed to be set up for a miracle at that point. Then came Texas’ Jaydon Blue, who broke off a 77-yard touchdown run, and that effectively sealed it. But if you examine the entire game, Texas rushed for almost 300 yards and dominated the line of scrimmage. Clemson’s offense struggled, and the opposing team gashed Clemson’s defense for much of the game. So, sure, there’s a buzz about what might be, but it’s all based on a small, thrilling chunk of the game, not the entire thing. Until they do it throughout an entire season, it’s wise to remain a little dubious.
Dabo Swinney’s last dance at Death Valley
After years of pursuing that next national championship, he’s done it again. And the rumor goes that this may be his last rodeo. This crazy prophecy isn’t some fantasy figure—these are coming from authoritative voices in the world of college football. Like Josh Pate would say, “He may have pivoted minorly here or there, but largely he’s stuck to his guns, and this is the year where if they were to win at all…if they were to go on a run in the portal NIL era of college football, I don’t know if he’d retire; he’d coach 30 more years for all I know. But that would be the moment if you ever wanted the ultimate ride off into the sunset moment,” on ‘See Ball Get Ball.’
Swinney’s been at Clemson since 2008, amassing an amazing 180-47 record, two national championships (2016 and 2018), and an insane streak of 14 consecutive nine-win seasons. But lately, the Tigers have been experiencing a tad bit of a dry spell—no natty since 2018, and queries are circulating as to whether Dabo’s insistence on not going full-bore in accepting the transfer portal and NIL contracts is sabotaging the program.
In addition to the number one QB this year, the Tigers also have a couple of dynamite young wide receivers—Bryant Wesco and T.J. Moore—waiting to explode. The defense is deep, and the culture is as robust as ever. Perhaps, then, perhaps it’s the year Dabo finally gets it all together one more time. It’s the kind of ending Netflix fantasies are made of.
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