3 days ago
CBS Sports breaks down the best, worst-case scenarios for Clemson football in 2025
CBS Sports recently broke down how the 2025 season could unfold for Clemson, mapping out the high and low ends for what Dabo Swinney's program might achieve this fall as part of an ACC-wide preview.
After a strong spring, Clemson is heading into the season with lofty expectations and plenty of national buzz. CBS Sports' Chip Patterson laid out just how good things could get if everything falls into place, describing a scenario where the Tigers run the table and make a serious push for another College Football Playoff appearance.
'An opening win against LSU sets the tone for an absolute war machine year, as Dabo Swinney's Tigers celebrate the 10th anniversary of their first CFP appearance with their eighth playoff march,' Patterson wrote. He noted that those early projections of multiple first-round NFL Draft picks would be validated if 'Cade Klubnik stars with a stellar group of receivers (a couple of whom aren't draft eligible until 2027) and the defense shines under the leadership of new defensive coordinator Tom Allen.'
However, Clemson's floor in 2025, according to Patterson, looks a lot like how last season wrapped up — solid but shy of the ultimate goal. 'Offseason hype falls flat. Clemson wins a lot of games, but gets tripped up enough to limit any chance of making the CFP as an at-large team. The Tigers are good enough to get off the bus, tie their shoes and win most of the games on their schedule but the season ends with little satisfaction as they come up short in the biggest games of the year,' he wrote.
No other ACC team received quite as high of a ceiling as Clemson's perfect regular season. Miami and SMU were both given a possible 11-1 record if they perform at their best, while Louisville could push for 10-2. Florida State's outlook remains unpredictable after its dramatic drop from 13-1 in 2023 to 2-10 in 2024, with CBS projecting anything from 5-7 to 9-3 for the Seminoles.
If Clemson wants to reach its best-case scenario, it will need everything to click — from Klubnik's leadership to Tom Allen's impact on defense — and prove that last season's stumbles were only temporary.
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