Paul Finebaum isn’t exactly buying the idea that Clemson is still operating like the same program that used to make the rest of the ACC flinch.
The Tigers were one of college football’s true heavyweights through the 2010s. Since the start of that decade, they’ve piled up the third-most wins in the sport, trailing only Alabama and Ohio State, and they’re tied for the second-most national championships in that span behind Alabama. For years, Clemson wasn’t just good - it was the kind of team nobody wanted to see on the schedule.
That edge has dulled in recent seasons. Since the turn of the decade, Clemson hasn’t looked nearly as imposing, and last year brought one of the roughest stretches of the Dabo Swinney era. The Tigers finished 7-6 after entering the season with national championship hopes, marking their worst year since 2010.
That slide has fueled questions about whether Swinney still has the same touch, and whether the pressure around him is starting to build.
Finebaum has been especially vocal this offseason. On “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning,” he said he’ll be watching Swinney closely at ACC Media Days to see how he handles the program’s current reality.
"You always flip it over, and there's Dabo," Finebaum said. "A guy who once owned this league in the same fashion that 25 years ago, Bobby Bowden did at Florida State.
Where is this program? Is Dabo going to come in there with his usual Daboisms, or is he going to try to meet this head-on?"
That’s the tension hanging over Clemson now. Swinney built the standard, and that standard has become the burden. Championships and playoff runs changed the expectations in Death Valley, so anything short of being in the hunt starts to feel like a letdown.
Criticism comes with the territory in college football, especially for a coach who has spent years at the top. The only real answer is winning, and there isn’t much optimism around Clemson heading into this season.
How the Tigers respond in 2026 will help show whether last year was just a bad season or the start of something much bigger for a program that once looked untouchable.
In Other News...
Clemson Quarterback Battle Just Took A Turn Fans Have Been Waiting On
At Clemsons preseason media day, the quarterback picture got a little clearer, even if the job itself is still very much up for grabs. Offensive coordinator Chad Morris confirmed that Chris Vizzina will open fall camp as the Tigers quarterback, matching what Dabo Swinney had already said in the spring, and he pointed to a summer that kept the room moving in the right direction.
The name drawing the most attention behind Vizzina is true freshman Tait Reynolds, who Morris said has had a strong spring and summer and will push the competition through camp. For Clemson, the real decision is still ahead, with fall camp set to sort out the final depth chart and, as Morris noted, the battles not limited to quarterback alone but spread across the offense. [Read more 🡒]
Clemson Landed Seth Tillman In A Commitment Story Fans Will Feel
A commitment story can feel routine until it doesnt, and Seth Tillmans decision landed with the kind of personal weight that cuts through the usual recruiting noise. The four-star defensive lineman from Rock Hill, South Carolina, is now headed to Clemson, giving the Tigers another big in-state win in the Class of 2027 and adding a player who has been on the radar as one of the top prospects in South Carolina.
Tillman picked Clemson over finalists that included South Carolina, Michigan and Georgia, a choice that matters on the field and in the states recruiting picture. What makes this one resonate, though, is the family backdrop around it, because the moment carried a meaning beyond the usual hat-on-the-table reveal and will be remembered as much for the emotion around it as for the commitment itself. [Read more 🡒]