It’s a Long 6 Months Before we Get to LSU

While I was perusing through social media this evening, I came across several podcasts and articles on what the national media and bloggers expect the Clemson Football team to be in 2025.

One guy gives Clemson a lot of love thanks to the Tom Allen hire as defensive coordinator and the Tigers’ acquisitions of Will Heldt and Jeremiah Alexander from the transfer portal. But the same guy turns around and later says Clemson is fading as a program.

Go figure, right?

Others are similar. Some are high on the Tigers, and some are calling them the most overrated team for 2025, and we have not even got to 2025, yet.

This is the kind of stuff I love about college football. The truth is none of us really know what is going to happen in 2025.

On paper, it is hard to pick against the Tigers, though. Clemson is expected to return eight starters on offense and seven on defense. Throw in Heldt at defensive end and Alexander at linebacker, add Allen to call plays, and all of a sudden Clemson’s defense looks like a top 10 unit again.

On paper, of course.

Cade Klubnik is back at quarterback, and he will have most of his weapons from last year’s team at his disposal. Clemson has to replace Phil Mafah at running back and Jake Briningstool at tight end, but other than those two everyone else is back.

Things look good, right?

On paper it does.

The schedule is a little difficult, though. One can argue it is one of the toughest in the country.

Clemson will face nine teams that played in a bowl or College Football Playoff game last year. Six of those teams won at least nine games in 2024.

They open the season hosting SEC power LSU at Memorial Stadium, and end the year at rival South Carolina, who has knocked off the Tigers two of the last three years. In between, they go to Georgia Tech to open the ACC season, visit Chapel Hill for Bill Belichick’s ACC opener, host SMU in a rematch of last year’s ACC Championship Game and visit Louisville for the first time since 2021.

The Cardinals, of course, came into Death Valley last year and beat the Tigers for the first time.

However, it is a long time before we get to any of those things.

First, there is spring practice, which begins on Feb. 28. Then there is the Spring Game in April and talking season in July. Before we know it, preseason camp is here, and football season is cranking up.

In other words, it’s going to be a long six months before we get to the LSU game. So, sit back and listen to all the chatter and read all the stories, as Clemson goes from ACC favorite, to overrated, to CFP pick, to a fading program.