The first in-season AP Top 25 of 2026 brought two very different early reads on South Carolina’s biggest football programs.
South Carolina is creeping upward, while Clemson has dropped out of the conversation entirely. The Gamecocks picked up 19 points in the poll released Tuesday afternoon, which puts them around 31st after sitting at 32nd in the preseason poll with 10 points. Clemson, meanwhile, went from the first team outside the preseason rankings with 112 points to getting zero votes this time around.
That split comes on the heels of two very different Week 1 results. Clemson was blown out 51-10 by LSU on Sept. 5 in Baton Rouge, a result that landed as the largest loss of the Dabo Swinney era and the fourth-largest defeat in program history. The Tigers’ 18th season under Swinney has already been framed by that setback after Clemson followed up a 2025 finish of 7-6 (4-8 ACC) with a rough opening night.
South Carolina, on the other hand, opened with a 57-0 win over Kent State. The Gamecocks got a strong debut from their new-look offense under offensive coordinator Kendal Briles, and the shutout was their first since 2021. After a 4-8 (1-7 SEC) season last year, it was the kind of start that at least begins to answer the offseason questions in Columbia.
Clemson returns home for its first game at Memorial Stadium against Georgia Southern on Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m. South Carolina is also back home, where it will face Towson at 7 p.m.
In Other News...
Clemson Gets A Needed D-Line Boost Before Its First ACC Test
Clemsons defensive front got a much-needed lift this week with the reinstatement of tackle Vic Burley after a suspension tied to a public disorderly conduct arrest. Burley still will miss the upcoming game against Georgia Southern, but his return is lined up for a far more important moment, with the Tigers expecting to have him back for their ACC opener against North Carolina.
That matters because Clemson is also bracing for the likely loss of defensive tackle Markus Strong, who is expected to be out for the season after suffering a lower-leg injury in a recent game. Between Burleys return and Strongs injury, the Tigers interior line picture has shifted quickly, and the next few weeks will tell just how much depth they can piece together before conference play starts to sharpen the stakes. [Read more 🡒]
Clemsons Ugly Opener Put Dabo Swinney Under An Unwanted Spotlight
Clemsons season-opening loss to LSU did more than drop the Tigers into an early hole. It also put a sharp light on the parts of the roster that did hold up, especially in the secondary, where cornerback Ashton Hampton and safety Corey Myrick drew the kind of attention that can matter as the schedule tightens. For a team that came in expecting a cleaner start, there was at least some proof that a few individual pieces can still compete at a high level even when the overall performance falls short.
The bigger issue, though, is what the opener said about where Clemson stands around its head coach. Dabo Swinney is used to having the benefit of the doubt, but this one invited more questions than answers, from the way the game was handled to how much work remains before the Tigers look like a finished product. The next few weeks will say plenty about whether the loss was just a bad night or the first sign that Clemson has more fixing to do than anyone wanted to admit. [Read more 🡒]
Clemsons Home Opener Comes With A Price Fans Will Notice
Clemsons home opener comes with a familiar kind of college-football cost, and this one is a hefty one. According to a contract obtained through public records, the Tigers will pay Georgia Southern for Saturday nights game at Memorial Stadium, a matchup set for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on the ACC Network.
The deal also spells out the usual logistics that come with bringing a road team to town, including ticket allotments and access for Georgia Southerns team and staff. It is the sort of behind-the-scenes bookkeeping that rarely gets much attention on game day, even though it helps shape the business side of a September Saturday in Death Valley. [Read more 🡒]