More Love for Clemson in These Way-Too-Early Top 25 Lists
By: Robert MacRae January 21, 2025

Early top 25 lists for next season are continuing to roll out.

Plenty more way-too-early rankings for the 2025 college football campaign were released before and after Monday night’s College Football Playoff National Championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame.

One of those top 25 lists for 2025 came Monday from Action Network’s Brett McMurphy, who has Clemson as his highest-ranked ACC team and slotted the Tigers in his top 10 at No. 8, two spots ahead of Miami:

Another way-too-early top 25 for 2025 was unveiled Monday by College Football Network, and that outlet is even higher on Clemson than McMurphy.

CFN placed the Tigers inside its top five at No. 4 – behind only Texas at No. 1, Ohio State at No. 2 and Oregon at No. 3.

“Dabo Swinney has finally begun to adapt to the new era of college football, signing transfer portals and hiring outside of the building,” CFN wrote.

“With QB Cade Klubnik and his top three WRs back and Tom Allen calling a talented defense, the Tigers aren’t just the favorite to win the ACC — they are one of the favorites to hoist the national championship trophy.”

Following Ohio State’s victory in Monday’s title game, ESPN released its way-too-early top 25 and ranked Clemson at No. 7 behind No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Penn State, No. 4 Notre Dame, No. 5 Georgia and No. 6 Oregon.

“Maybe Clemson coach Dabo Swinney is doing it the right way, and we were all wrong,” ESPN wrote regarding the Tigers’ 2025 outlook. “Swinney caught plenty of flak for not utilizing the transfer portal after his team’s ugly 34-3 loss to Georgia in the opener. However, the Tigers rebounded to win another ACC title and reach the CFP. They’ll undoubtedly be the team to beat in the league in 2025, with Klubnik, Williams, Woodaz, Parker, Woods and Miller all electing to return for another season. With Williams, Wesco and T.J. Moore coming back, Clemson’s passing game might be even better. Finding a No. 1 tailback, after Mafah’s eligibility ended and Jay Haynes tore his ACL in the ACC championship game, will be a priority in the spring. The defense will have a new leader after Swinney fired coordinator Wes Goodwin and replaced him with Penn State’s Tom Allen. And guess what? Clemson signed three players from the portal: edge rushers Jeremiah Alexander (Alabama) and Will Heldt (Purdue) and receiver Tristan Smith (Southeast Missouri State).”

On Tuesday, CBS Sports released its way-too-early top 25 ahead of the 2025 season and has Clemson at No. 8, the second highest-ranked ACC team behind Miami (No. 3).

“The culture is in Dabo Swinney’s locker room!” CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd wrote. “Remember that old my-way-or-transfer-highway assertion? Dabo finally broke down and imported three players from the portal. It should be fun watching Miami and Clemson battle for the ACC. Cade Klubnik will be a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate as he returns after throwing for 3,700 yards and 36 touchdowns in an ACC title-winning season. The wide receivers room is loaded. However, the rush defense was near the bottom of the conference. Nevertheless, pencil in Clemson for a playoff berth.”

Last week, Clemson was ranked No. 7 in the way-too-early top 25s from both Athlon Sports and Sporting News.

After winning its eighth ACC title in the last 10 years and making its seventh College Football Playoff appearance, Clemson (10-4 in 2024) will open the 2025 season with a marquee matchup against the LSU Tigers at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 30.

Clemson’s full schedule for the 2025 campaign is still to be announced, but in addition to the season opener against LSU, Clemson’s slate will include home games against Duke, Florida State, SMU, Syracuse, Troy and Furman, as well as road contests at Boston College, Georgia Tech, Louisville, North Carolina and South Carolina.