We’re still enjoying the off-season buzz and the excitement from the spring survey. However, anticipation for college football is already building. Who will make it into the top 12 of the second year of the new playoff system? While it’s too early to analyze the chances with great detail, looking at the schedule and the current depth chart—with many key players returning—Dabo Swinney and Clemson appear to be strong contenders for an undefeated playoff run. Their hopes for the playoffs have grown stronger after a perfect conference championship bolstered their confidence. However, with confidence comes the potential for issues, especially when it comes to rivalries. For Swinney, that means facing the Gamecocks. The history of tough losses in this rivalry could be reversed if Clemson can reach its goals by the end of the season.
“Clemson and Dabo Swinney, according to Baker’s stats in Clinton, South Carolina, Clemson go into Colombia undefeated last game of the regular season. But they lost to South Carolina, so Clemson is 11-0, they’re red-hot, they’ve already got the ACC championship appearance locked up by then, and they go into the rivalry game, and they lose to South Carolina,” Josh Pate envisioned a looming heartbreak for Coach Swinney and the Tigers.
The Gamecocks have had a hard time defeating them in two of the past three seasons under coach Shane Beamer. But to reach November 29th, both teams should navigate the gauntlet, and Pate thinks it won’t be a cakewalk for the Tigers, at least.
Their season opener against Kelly’s Tigers carries a huge threat. But they will still have a few home-game advantages over the Death Valley clash. Whether or not those slight points will be enough for Swinney and the boys to topple the Tigers is still a question, but they’re in a place. Following the rough test, they will have room to breathe as they get to deal with a handful of further home matches against FSU, Syracuse, Duke, etc. But Josh Pate, however, deems the schedule to be on the tougher side. Thanks to a few high-octane on-road games, including the Gamecocks rivalry.
“The first thing they’ve got to do is go 11-0. That’s hard. They play LSU in week one. They’re favored by two and a half. This could bust in week one. But even if they get through that, Clemson does not play Miami,” the college football analyst slammed the schedule hiccups. “But it’s a little misleading. Because they do play six of the top seven odds teams in the ACC. So, this is not an easy schedule.”
However, no matter what risks and hazards are brewing, the Tigers’ talent stock makes a roar. Look at the jam-packed room consisting of breakout QB Cade Klubnik, Antonio Williams, and T.J. Moore on the defense. In defense as well, they get returning game-changers T.J. Parker, Peter Woods, and Sammy Brown.
The Tigers are ready to kick off the season as a top-10 team. Analyst Joel Klatt is already seeing them in the championship crown, given how stable and consistent they have been under the Swinney era. On top, Cade Klubnik’s potential turns heads.
Clemson’s Cade Klubnik receives an uplifting projection of his impending NFL fate
Cade Klubnik doesn’t want to settle for anything less than a Natty. He knows what his goal is. The kid with all the sparkling NFL and Heisman hype has some drawbacks. But evading those, how he led the Tigers to the ACC helm last year was phenomenal. The billing of a brilliant 3639 yards and 36 touchdowns with only six interceptions can do justice to the Natty dream, especially with a loaded A-lister receiving corps.
“Cade is not as physically gifted as some of the other quarterbacks in this year’s class, like he’s not a LaNorris Sellers. He’s not even as physically gifted as Drew Allar. But when I look at Clemson this year, I think they’re set up to make a huge run in college football,” analyst Jordan Reid kept Clemson on the front line while appreciating the rare gift Klubnik brings to the table.
“I will admit that I wasn’t a huge fan of him,” Jordan Reid, during an interview on the ‘This is Football’ show, came clean and deep in his thoughts. “As the year went along, Kev, got so much better. And in that game against Texas, I thought he was phenomenal. Like, he surprised me so much in that one.”
Reid didn’t just have hollow words for the Tigers’ offensive lead; He offered a huge prediction. “In my mock draft, I had Cade Klubnik of Clemson,” Reid handpicked the Clemson QB1 for his mock 2026 draft’s top pick.
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