Sports Illustrated’s College Football Preseason Top 25: No. 3 Clemson

Through Aug. 22, Sports Illustrated will count down its preseason college football Top 25 with overviews of each team. Here are the full rankings so far.

Beginning a decade ago and running across six seasons, Clemson was the definition of an elite program. Alongside Alabama, it was one of the teams in college football you could regularly pick to make the final game of the season. The Tigers had the talent, numbers, production and rings to back that up.

Between 2015 and ’20, the Tigers finished inside the top four in the final polls, made the College Football Playoff and won the ACC every season. Twice they took home the national championship and played for it two more times in close games. It was a remarkable run that largely came out of nowhere, a good program that became a great one and had a historic run.

It’s been a while since Clemson has been that type of team on the national stage. It has had top 20 teams in the final rankings the last four years and went 40–14 during that span, to be fair. It won the league twice and made the College Football Playoff. Just about every team in the country would want to have a similar type of run.

But the Tigers haven’t been at the same level as they once were. Instead of elite, they’ve been merely average (and only on occasion, very good). That has been clear in terms of where they stacked up at the end of every January as well as the months that preceded the end of every season lately. They lost big nonconference games they once dominated. They slipped in the league, most notably losing seven times in the last four years to ACC opposition that frankly wasn’t the best. They still produced a number of all-conference players and NFL draft picks, but it was never quite the same.

While the slightly lean seasons haven’t been to the standard established under Dabo Swinney, it formed the bedrock for this team. Young players who were thrown to the fire as freshmen have played, learned and improved. Recruiting has ticked back up even as the nature of roster building in college football has changed significantly.

This year, as a result of some of those recent bumps, Clemson might well be Clemson again. You know, an elite team with a top-flight quarterback, a defensive line filled with first-round picks and a couple of receivers that will absolutely torch some opposing defensive backs? Yes, that one.

“We have most of our team back. That, again, speaks to our retention. These guys can leave any time they want, but they choose, first of all, to come, and then they have to stay,” Swinney said. “These guys, they could all go wherever they want to go, but it’s a close group. They’ve done football life together for a few years now, and they’ve had some success. Certainly last year and getting a chance to maybe get a little glimpse at the top of the mountain, that’s certainly given them a little fuel as they’ve gotten back to work since January.”

After winning the ACC yet again last season (thanks to some help and a walk-off field goal) and pushing Texas in its CFP matchup, Clemson gets to run it back with virtually the same roster from 2024 that could have as many as five first-rounders. Up and down the two-deep are seniors, juniors and some blue-chip youngsters. The offensive system has been well established and massive gains are expected on defense with the arrival of Tom Allen as the new coordinator.

All the familiar signs are there that the Tigers are back and ready to contend for a national championship.

Fast Facts

2024 record: 10–4, 7–1 ACC

Offense: 34.7 ppg (18th in FBS), 6.29 yards per play (28th)

Defense: 23.4 ppg (49th in FBS), 5.55 yards per play (64th)

On the Headset

Dabo Swinney, entering Year 18 in Clemson, 180–47 overall record

The more things change in college football, it seems the more Swinney stays the same. This is his 23rd year in total with the Tigers. Age has not slowed his enthusiasm for the game or for what he can do with his program outside the lines.

But this offseason produced a notable shift out of Swinney: He dipped into the transfer portal. By his standards, it was a rather extensive shopping list in landing a whopping four new players. Swinney had been among the handful of coaches who mostly abstained from adding to the roster this way. The Tigers, and the service academies, had taken the fewest portal players in an era where it’s not uncommon for coaches to replace upwards of 50 members this way each year.

The veteran head coach also did something out of character in firing defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin and bringing in a rare outside hire in Allen, who left Penn State after recently helping the Nittany Lions to the CFP semifinals. Swinney has had remarkable staff continuity and prides himself on developing coaches almost as much as players. Axing Goodwin (who had been there 13 years and was internally promoted after Brent Venables left) was a big move after the team’s defense had slipped noticeably—especially against the run.

“He’s a guy I’ve known a little bit over the years, we talked a little bit on the phone when he was the head coach at Indiana,” Swinney said of Allen. “But I just felt like he was the right leader of men that I really needed at this moment. Both for the people and the staff room and also the players. He’s been awesome.”

Swinney is still the same coach, but his evolution coming into 2025 is worth taking note of. Not many would want to make those kinds of changes after having such an established program. It probably is a great sign that he’s not only getting with the times, but also recognizes he has the type of team that can win it all this season.

Key Returning Starter

QB Cade Klubnik, Sr.

Klubnik arrived on campus being talked about as a worthy successor to Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence, but it took him a while to start showing he was capable of being that type of signal-caller. He’s improved significantly with each season. Between being a senior who’s played in 37 games plus the continuity under OC Garrett Riley, there’s a good chance that he can be a Heisman finalist in 2025.

“In terms of our offense, we’ve got a lot coming back. That’s really exciting,” Klubnik said. “We’ve been a young team, I feel like, every year I’ve been here. We’re a veteran team and very experienced, got a lot of guys that have played a lot of ball. That’s really exciting, but we’ve got to go do it. We’ve got to go do it and take advantage of every opportunity we get.”

Key Transfer

DE Will Heldt, from Purdue

Heldt isn’t the first transfer for Clemson since the portal era began, but he might be the most significant. He was an established player from another Power 4 program and he gets to fill a big role on the Tigers defense. With fellow linemen Peter Woods and T.J. Parker looking like top 10 picks, Heldt should be free to make a ton of plays with his lengthy frame and solid burst.

Key Departure

LB Barrett Carter, fourth-round NFL draft pick by the Cincinnati Bengals

The Tigers lost only a handful of starters or contributors from last season but the toughest to replace might be Carter given how explosive he was when he was coming down hill or chasing down somebody in the backfield. He played a lot over the years and was first-team All-ACC as a senior in 2024 on top of being one of the defensive leaders.

Circle the Dates

Aug. 30, vs. LSU
Oct. 18, vs. SMU
Nov. 14, at Louisville
Nov. 29, at South Carolina

Bottom Line

The schedule is far from being easy, with a top 10 matchup against LSU in Death Valley (the easternmost one) and a tricky test at Georgia Tech in the first month plus a tough final stretch that includes as many as three top 25 teams in the final five weeks. This looks like a Clemson team of old, however, between what it has coming back plus some of the offseason changes. Winning the ACC is the bare minimum, and if the Tigers stay healthy, it wouldn’t be surprising if a long CFP run is in store for Swinney & Co.