CBS Sports Hands Clemson a ‘Sub-Standard’ Grade for 2025 Season

National expectations were sky-high for Clemson in 2025, but CBS Sports’ final grade painted a far harsher picture of how the season unfolded.

Clemson entered 2025 with National Championship expectations, but inconsistency led to a 7-5 finish and a disappointing national evaluation. | Ken Ruinard / USA Today Co / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A season that felt disappointing to Clemson fans looked even worse through a national lens, as CBS Sports' Chip Patterson handed the Tigers a below-average grade for their 2025 campaign last week, emphasizing the concerns that linger heading into the offseason.

Entering the season, Clemson carried heavy expectations fresh off an ACC title and a College Football Playoff appearance for the first time since 2020. Additionally, the Tigers had a returning production rate of 80%, the highest in Division I football.

Multiple outlets and analysts projected the Tigers as a national title contender in the preseason, with Clemson opening as the No. 4 team nationally and widely expected to reach at least the College Football Playoff.

Instead, Clemson stumbled to a 7-5 regular season, a finish that earned the Tigers a D from Patterson in his postseason grades.

Patterson's assessment, however, hinged less on where Clemson finished in the ACC standings and more on the standard the program set for itself entering the year, as the Tigers' grade tied for the fifth-worst in the conference.

"If we are grading Clemson based on where the Tigers stack up in the ACC, then the Tigers had a fairly average season," Patterson began. "The problem is we are grading Clemson based on the program standard and expectations heading into the season."

Clemson's most well-known mantra is, "Best is the standard." It's a phrase that has defined the program's rise, and one that framed the disappointment surrounding the Tigers' bumpy 2025 campaign.

More often than not, that standard proved difficult to meet, as Clemson struggled to consistently put together complete performances on both sides of the ball.

"Offensively, success would come and go," Patterson wrote. "And defensively, they were talented but had a couple of games where that group could not get the stops it needed to win."

While Clemson's season was defined by inconsistency and a turbulent start, head coach Dabo Swinney was able to rally his team down the stretch. 

The Tigers closed the regular season with four straight wins, including victories over Florida State, No. 19 Louisville, Furman and South Carolina to extend their bowl streak to 21 consecutive seasons.

Even so, Patterson viewed the late surge as only a partial counterweight to the broader shortcomings Clemson sustained.

"There is some credit for winning four straight games to close the season," Patterson finished. "But it's a sub-standard year that gets a sub-standard grade."

The Clemson Tigers look to finish off their 2025 season on a high note, facing off against Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl on December 27.