Everyone who had Clemson penciled in as their preseason favorite to not only make the College Football Playoff but win the national championship is now questioning their bets. The Tigers are 1-1, and while losing to now No. 3 LSU is excusable, nearly being beaten by Troy is not.
Week 2 in college football is often glossed over as the week not to worry about. There typically aren’t many ranked matchups, and even the ones that exist aren’t usually notable. But that’s how the sport fools its fans — and apparently even its teams.
Clemson almost fell into the same trap that No. 13 Florida did against USF and No. 18 Arizona State did against Mississippi State in Week 2, nearly being upset by unranked teams. But the No. 8 Tigers losing to the Sun Belt’s Troy would have been so much worse.
This Troy team has yet to prove itself
There have been times in Troy’s short history when the Trojans have been one of the Sun Belt’s best programs. From 2016 through 2018, they went 31-8. Then, under Jon Sumrall from 2022 to 2023, they finished 23-5 with a top-25 ranking in 2022. However, under current head coach Gerad Parker, they’re coming off a 4-8 campaign.
Clemson losing to teams like Troy should never be a possibility given the talent discrepancies between the two programs. That’s even more true now in an era where programs like Troy often lose key players to the transfer portal.
But it’s not as if Dabo Swinney would actually go seek players out of the portal anyway.
Besides that, losing to a team at home in Death Valley that finished with only four wins last season would have been completely inexcusable. Still, the result is a drop in the AP poll, from No. 8 to No. 12.
Cade Klubnik has not looked like a Heisman Trophy candidate
Not only was Clemson supposed to contend for the national title this year, quarterback Cade Klubnik was expected to be a Heisman Trophy candidate. Both of those projections are already looking like two of the worst preseason predictions.
Klubnik didn’t help matters Saturday. In fact, some of his costly mistakes nearly led to the upset.
At one point, the Tigers were down 16 but managed a field goal before halftime to make it 16-3. Troy held its advantage thanks to Clemson turnovers, one of which was a pick-six thrown by Klubnik in the second quarter.
Klubnik finished 18-of-24 passing for 196 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. While he helped spark a second-half rally, it was another shaky performance from the senior who entered the season with sky-high expectations.
Remember, against LSU, he wasn’t sharp either, struggling to find open receivers. He didn’t throw a touchdown in that game but did throw an interception.
The Clemson offense as a whole is bad
Some of the same offensive issues that plagued Clemson in 2023 have reappeared this season. Not only does Klubnik look inconsistent, but the Tigers as a whole aren’t clicking.
Clemson now has three turnovers through two games. In addition to Klubnik’s interception for a touchdown, running back Adam Randall fumbled in the first quarter Saturday, leading to a Troy field goal that pushed the lead to 10.
Randall, a converted wide receiver turned running back, is currently Clemson’s best option at the position — which isn’t ideal. The Tigers have one of the worst rushing offenses in the country, ranking 127th and averaging just 75.5 yards per game.
They also rank 101st in third-down conversions (.333) and 91st in red-zone offense.
To put things in perspective, Clemson was a 31-point favorite going into Saturday’s game against Troy. The 16-point halftime deficit, though mildly impressive to overcome, was the third-largest comeback at home in program history.
Afterward, Swinney put the comeback into perspective.
“There’s a reason there are only three,” Swinney said. “Because when you get down like that, you usually get beat.”
Dabo Swinney, Clemson fooled everyone last year
Dabo Swinney did his best salesman pitch in 2024. The Tigers were crushed 34-3 by No. 1 Georgia to open the season, but then rattled off six straight wins and took 10 of their final 13, including an ACC Championship and a College Football Playoff berth.
Go back and look at that schedule, though. Clemson barely beat any team with a winning record. Their only ranked win came against No. 8 SMU in the ACC title game — a game they only reached because Miami lost to Syracuse on the final weekend of the regular season. Two of their losses also came at home: one to Louisville and another to in-state rival South Carolina.
Klubnik was lighting up the stat sheets during stretches where the Clemson offense looked “back.” Statistically, he was one of the nation’s top quarterbacks, helping the Tigers average 37.1 points per game.
