The Clemson Tigers entered the 2025 college football season with high expectations. Dabo Swinney's team were a College Football Playoff hopeful in a weak ACC. However, the season is off to a disappointing start for Cade Klubnik and Co.. Swinney watched as his team lost its second game of the year after a last second field goal from the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Georgia Tech pulled off an upset to open the season against the Colorado Buffaloes. A win against Clemson should help the Yellow Jackets climb into the AP's Top 25 next week. On the other hand, the Tigers have lost two of their three games so far this year to Georgia Tech and the LSU Tigers. Now, the team's path to the playoffs gets a lot more complicated moving forward.
Swinney is not used to losing at the helm of the Clemson football program. This season marks the third time in his 18-year career as the Tigers' head coach that the team got off to a 1-2 start. He has not had to dig his team out of this kind of hole in more than a decade.
According to Post and Courier reporter Jon Blau, there is nothing the Swinney and his playeres can do to combat what the media will say about the loss to Georgia Tech.
“I know the world we live in, I know the world we created at Clemson with high expectations and excellent. I don’t have my head in the sand there, I know there will be a ton of negativity,” Swinney said. “…but we can’t do anything about that.”
Klubnik has led an underwhelming Tigers team after entering the season with a lot of hype. The pressure is on both him and Swinney to lead a turnaround that helps Clemson recover. If so, the team can easily get back into the College Football Playoff conversation. For now, a home game against the Syracuse Orange looms large.
