The Clemson Tigers are expected to be one of the top college football teams in the country next season as they are returning over 80% of their production from 2024.
Players like Cade Klubnik, Peter Woods, T.J. Parker, and Antonio Williams highlight the talent on this Clemson team that hopes to win the ACC and make it back to the College Football Playoff. However, as head coach Dabo Swinney has pointed out, Clemson’s schedule is not going to make the Tigers’ road back to the playoffs so easy.
Dabo Swinney Previews Clemson Football’s ‘Tough’ 2025 Schedule
In an interview with the ACC Network on “ACC PM,” Swinney spoke about Clemson’s upcoming schedule, saying, “But man, we’ve got a tough schedule, I mean we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Swinney is right, as the Tigers host the LSU Tigers in a battle of Death Valley’s to start the season. The Tigers also have to take on SMU at home and Louisville on the road, both of whom finished the 2024 season ranked.
Then to finish off the season, Clemson has to play another SEC opponent as they travel to Columbia to take on their bitter rival South Carolina, who are expected to be great this year in their own right.
You add in schools like Bill Belichick’s North Carolina and Florida State, and you can see what Swinney means. It’s an absolute gauntlet, especially for an ACC school, but this could be a blessing in disguise for the Tigers.
Last season, the Tigers squeaked into the playoffs, and if they lose one or two of these games, they might be able to do the same as strength of schedule is something that the College Football Playoff Committee values highly.
The tough schedule could also help the Tigers be a battle-tested team come playoff time which would help them in close games that they will need to show grit and toughness to win.
As Dabo mentions in the interview, the Tigers have won the ACC eight out of the last ten years, and if they can do so this year, they’ll likely have a high playoff seed and a first round bye.
KEEP READING: ‘We’re Not Against the Portal’ — Dabo Swinney Stands Firm on Clemson’s Roster Strategy
It won’t be an easy journey, but the Tigers really have a fantastic team on paper that should be full of first-round draft picks, so despite the hard schedule look for the Tigers to be a national title contender in 2025.
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