The weekend’s chaos may have done Clemson a favor. While the Tigers were idle on their bye, several results around the country lined up in a way that could leave Dabo Swinney’s team staring at an even friendlier path the rest of the way.
Georgia would move to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 projections after knocking off Alabama in Tuscaloosa and watching Texas fall to Oklahoma in Red River. UCLA’s win over Oregon also changed the playoff picture, with the Bruins sliding into a position that effectively takes the Big Ten’s third spot in the 12-team tournament. Elsewhere, Kentucky kept making life miserable in the SEC, Iowa continued to look legitimate in the Big Ten, and the ACC picture stayed messy.
From Clemson’s angle, though, the bigger story is how few ranked opponents appear to be left on the schedule. Miami remains the league’s clear top team, but Wake Forest, a team the Hurricanes already beat, may now be the conference’s second-best group. SMU might still have the higher ceiling, but Wake Forest looks more trustworthy right now.
Pitt’s loss to North Carolina only helps Clemson’s resume, since the Tigers beat the Tar Heels earlier in the season. That result also adds another wrinkle to the Bill Belichick story in Chapel Hill, because North Carolina may not be a bad team after all. At the same time, the three best ACC teams left on Clemson’s schedule all lost: Duke, Virginia Tech and Florida State.
Duke was one play away from being ranked before falling to Georgia Tech on the final snap. Virginia Tech has now dropped back-to-back games. Florida State, meanwhile, still cannot win away from Tallahassee, and Syracuse does not look like much of a road threat either after losing to a Virginia team that had been stumbling.
That leaves Clemson in a spot where the schedule could keep softening. The only two Power Four teams left on the Tigers’ slate that won this weekend were South Carolina, which rolled Florida, and Georgia Tech, which beat Duke. Clemson may be looking at a real shot to finish 10-2.
There is still no room for error, but the Tigers are getting a runway. And with SMU and Wake Forest both off Clemson’s league schedule, the lane to the finish line looks better now than it did before the bye.
In Other News...
Clemsons Next Opponent Just Won Again But Looked Far From Ready
Charleston Southern kept rolling at Buccaneer Field, knocking off No. 21 South Carolina State 49-39 in a game that had plenty of offense but even more rough edges. The Buccaneers got major help from special teams, which produced two return touchdowns, while redshirt sophomore quarterback Jared Echols helped steady things by completing 17 of 29 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns.
For Clemson, the result matters less than the feel of it. Charleston Southern won again, but the game was messy, physical and constantly interrupted by penalties and targeting ejections on both sides, which is hardly the sort of clean tune-up that suggests a polished outfit is about to walk into Death Valley. The Tigers will get a team with some recent momentum, but also one still sorting through discipline issues and plenty of signs it is not yet operating at full order. [Read more 🡒]
Clemson Basketballs Nonconference Strategy Comes With A Price Fans Will Notice
Clemsons basketball schedule planning for the coming season comes with a familiar cost that rarely gets much attention until the bill is laid out. Between the mens and womens programs, the Tigers are spending a combined $938,000 on nonconference games, a mix of guarantees paid to visiting opponents and fees tied to holiday tournaments that help shape the early part of the calendar.
The mens side accounts for most of it, with $590,000 going to six teams and another $35,000 for the 2026 Maui Invitational, while the womens program is set to pay $263,000 in guarantees plus a $50,000 entry fee for the Daytona Beach Classic. Clemson does have some series agreements and a few power-conference matchups that do not require guarantees, but for fans, the larger takeaway is clear: the price of building a nonconference slate is going up, and those choices can quietly shape everything from scheduling flexibility to the quality of the preseason road map. [Read more 🡒]
Clemson's Best Remaining Shot At A Quality Win Looks Uncomfortably Thin
Clemsons path to a stronger postseason case has gotten a lot narrower after early losses to ranked LSU and Miami, and the schedule ahead in the ACC does not offer many obvious fixes. With only three ACC teams currently in the AP Top 25, the Tigers may spend the rest of the regular season looking for wins that help polish a resume that already lacks the kind of signature result selection committees tend to favor.
That makes every remaining chance matter, even if the slate does not offer much in the way of obvious quality. Clemson needs to take care of business and hope the league gives it some help, because without another ranked opponent on the horizon, the Tigers best argument may end up depending as much on what other ACC teams do, including Duke, as on their own finish. [Read more 🡒]