With yet another upset loss to Georgia Tech, Clemson is off to a concerning 1-2 start to the 2025 college football season. After entering the season as national championship contenders, Dabo Swinney's team is already in danger just three weeks into the new year.
After entering the season at No. 4 in the inaugural AP poll, Clemson was the clear preseason favorite to win the ACC. Yet, through three games, the Tigers have not looked like a conference title contender, much less a national championship contender.
With losses to LSU and Georgia Tech, the Tigers have yet to suffer a “bad” loss. Regardless, losing both puts Clemson's College Football Playoff aspirations on life support. They have not started a season with a 1-2 record since 2014, when they lost to No. 12-ranked Georgia and No. 1-ranked Florida State.
Clemson has time to turn its season around, but time is quickly running out. Whether or not the Tigers can right the ship, it is officially time to panic.
Clemson has no run game
Adam Randall has started to get going lately, squeezing in a couple of long runs in Weeks 2 and 3. But aside from those few runs, Clemson has gotten next to nothing done on the ground.
If Randall had not ripped off a pair of 30-yard runs, Clemson would be averaging just 266 rushing yards through three games, at just 3.2 yards per carry. That includes an inexcusable performance against Troy, in which they managed just 3.9 yards per carry as a team.
At face value, Clemson's run game has not been bad. They have surpassed 100 yards in each of their last two games, with Randall's stat lines appearing impressive on paper. The numbers simply do not tell the full story of a team that is struggling to create running lanes for a mediocre backfield.
Entering the 2025 college football season, Clemson was not supposed to be a running team. Cade Klubnik has always been the engine of the offense, and the Tigers did not find any practical way to replace 1,000-yard rusher Phil Mafah. Regardless, anyone can easily deduce that this level of production, or lack thereof, is not a recipe for winning football.
Clemson wants to feature Klubnik, but it is difficult to find success through the air without even a semblance of a threatening run game. Even a player as talented as Klubnik, whom many believed would be the No. 1 pick of the 2026 NFL Draft in the preseason, cannot thrive in a one-dimensional offense.
Whatever the issue may be, Dabo Swinney has to identify it immediately. Clemson is averaging a mere 102 rushing yards in its two games against Power Five opponents, an inexcusable number for a contending team.
Swinney and Clemson are in the perfect position to address the issue in Week 4 against Syracuse. The Orange are allowing 165 rushing yards per game thus far. The second-most in the ACC. The Tigers need to exploit that and hope to get their run game back on track.
Turnovers and miscues
After throwing just six interceptions in 2024, Klubik already has three through three games in 2025. He simply has not been on the same page with any of his weapons early, but that has been the frustrating story of Clemson's season to this point.
In addition to Klubnik's interceptions, the Tigers have also coughed up two fumbles, giving them five turnovers through three games. The miscues completely nullify the effects of Clemson's defense, which has five takeaways of its own. Swinney's defense has proven capable of forcing mistakes, but the offense's inability to get out of its own way prevents what should be an elite turnover margin.
However, it is not just the turnovers by themselves that are killing Clemson. Key mistakes continue to kill momentum and change the complexity of games.
In each game, Clemson has squandered at least one opportunity by either being careless with the football or lacking urgency. The Tigers intercepted Garrett Nussmeier in enemy territory early in Week 1, only to settle for a field goal after going three-and-out. They fumbled one possession after picking off Troy in Week 3. Against Georgia Tech, they missed a field goal early and failed to take advantage of field position yet again after another takeaway late.
Dabo Swinney's defense is not elite, but it has done its job to give Clemson's offense additional possessions. Yet, almost every time, that offense is either giving the ball right back or failing to capitalize on the golden opportunity at hand.
Tough upcoming schedule
Clemson's early-season schedule has been rough, but the road only gets bumpier from Week 4 on. The Tigers have just one ranked opponent on their remaining schedule, but nothing can be taken for granted at this point.
By opening the season against LSU and facing Georgia Tech on the road in Week 3, there is no doubt that Clemson has dealt with arguably the most demanding schedule in the country thus far. Regardless, beginning the year 1-2 is close to the worst-case scenario, with the team's listless performances making it even worse than it seems.
Clemson will get a sneaky-tough Syracuse football team in Week 4 before heading into its bye week. While Dabo Swinney might be simply looking to get to the break at this point, overlooking the Orange could result in a disastrous 1-3 start.
Coming out of the break, Clemson has consecutive road matchups with North Carolina and Boston College before returning home to face SMU. None of those teams are ranked, but the Tar Heels remain a wild card with Bill Belichick on their sidelines, while the Mustangs, who went to the College Football Playoffs last season, only dropped out of the top 25 after a 48-45 loss to Baylor.
Clemson faces Duke, Florida State and South Carolina in three of its last five games. Florida State is the only ranked opponent of the group, but Duke and South Carolina are two of the most dangerous unranked teams in the nation. The Gamecocks will host the Tigers in the annual year-end rivalry game and entered Week 3 at No. 11 before suffering a bad upset loss to Vanderbilt.
Clemson's schedule seems manageable on paper, but no Tigers football fan can feel confident with what the team has rolled out thus far to begin the 2025 season. They are essentially forced into a tough position where they need to win out to make the playoffs, which does not seem likely, given the initial results.
