CLEMSON TIGERS SET SIGHTS ON ANOTHER ACC TITLE
Ajay Allen - July 29, 2025
Clemson University football officially unveiled its 2025–26 season press release as the Tigers gear up for another run at ACC supremacy and College Football Playoff success.
Coming off an ACC title and a playoff birth following the 2024 campaign, Clemson enters the season as the nation’s top returning product ACC team with 80 percent, far exceeding the Power Four average, making it one of the few programs with such veteranship. The centerpiece of the returning roster is senior quarterback Cade Klubnik, who produced career highs in 2024 with 3,639 passing yards, 36 touchdown passes and 463 rushing yards, totaling 43 scores and firmly placing him among the country’s elite.
Klubnik, widely regarded among the best returners by Pro Football Focus, anchors an offense that brings back eight of its 11 starters. This includes four offensive linemen and a deep receiving corps featuring Antonio Williams, Bryant Wesco Jr., and T.J. Moore. Freshmen such as running back Gideon Davidson add high end recruiting momentum; Davidson rushed for over 2,000 yards in high school and is expected to compete immediately in the backfield.
On defense, Clemson has one of the most productive units in the ACC, returning standout linemen Peter Woods and T.J. Parker, both ranked among the very top returning defenders nationally and regarded by PFF as top returning players at their positions.
The addition of transfer defensive end Will Heldt from Purdue adds further pass rush depth and experience to the front four. The defense will debut new coordinator Tom Allen, whose aggressive, disciplined schemes replace Wes Goodwin and aim to restore Clemson’s traditional defensive dominance.
Coach Dabo Swinney, now in his 18th full season at Clemson and 23rd overall with the program, reiterated at ACC Kickoff that the Tigers must earn their success: “We’ve been around a lot of good teams, and this team has the ingredients to be a really good team, but we’ve got to go do the work… We can’t talk about it or predict our way into it.”
With expectations sky-high, Swinney also emphasized the importance of finishing summer strong, rising up in fall camp, and starting the season on point for what he expects to be another championship run.
National projections overwhelmingly favor Clemson as ACC title chasers and playoff heavyweights. ESPN and Sporting News place the Tigers among the favorites for both the conference and national championship, with ESPN giving Clemson the best odds to win the ACC and Sporting News projecting a top seed bye in the CFP. Athlon Sports ranks Clemson atop its 2025 ACC preview, forecasting a title repeat over Miami, with Louisville, SMU and Duke also in the mix.
Clemson will open its season at home against LSU on August 30 at Memorial Stadium in a marquee non-conference game, followed by home games versus Troy and Syracuse. ACC competition includes road tests at Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Boston College, and key rivalry matchups at Florida State, Louisville, and the traditional season finale at South Carolina.
The 2025 recruiting class featured 15 signees and ranks among the top in the ACC. Headlined by high impact in state commitments, the class continues Clemson’s streak of strong and balanced recruiting across all phases. True freshman defensive tackle Amare Adams and versatile athlete Tavoy Feagin headline a group that could contribute early on both sides of the ball.
As Clemson embarks on the 2025–26 campaign, the program seeks to build on its long term excellence, having claimed eight ACC titles in ten years and returning to playoff prominence in 2024 and assert itself once again among college football’s elite levels of consistency and championship pedigree.
With an experienced nucleus led by Klubnik, a fearsome defense anchored by Woods and Parker, and veteran leadership under Dabo Swinney, the Tigers aim to deliver not just another ACC crown, but a deep run in the College Football Playoff.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Sam Horn has officially signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, marking a major step in his baseball career. He will play through Mizzou’s football season as he continues to battle for the Tigers’ starting QB spot and finish the 2025-26 season.