Syracuse looks to upend Clemson for the second straight time in November

Editor's Note: During the summer, we're going to be doing a team-by-team preview of Syracuse football's 2026 opponents. Our last opponent preview was for SMU, and we continue our series today with Syracuse's matchup against Clemson on Nov. 6.

Following their ACC Championship season and playoff appearance in 2024, Dabo Swinney and the Tigers were expected to have an equally great 2025 season.

Simply put, that did not happen. Clemson was ranked No. 4 in the preseason poll, but fell entirely out of the Top 25 by Week 4, and a historic home loss to Syracuse put them at 1-3.

Clemson finished 7-6, their worst season since Swinney’s second year as coach, and far from the norm.

A look back at Clemson's 2025 season

For a team that typically enjoys 9+ win seasons, this fall will be a good stress test to see whether their 7-win season was a one-off, or a sign of things to come.

Quarterback Cade Klubnik took a step back in 2025 as he was dealing with an ankle injury for a majority of the season that hindered his mobility. The Tigers secondary was disjointed, allowing 251.2 passing yards per game, 105th in the nation.

Looking back, Clemson’s season ultimately hinged on their three one-score losses in which they executed poorly down the stretch. This is doubly so in regards to their week 1 loss at LSU which set the tone for the year, a game in which Clubnik looked like a shell of himself. Against Georgia Tech where they lost by three, they had two costly turnovers down the stretch. Finally, in their 46-45 loss to Duke, they allowed the Blue Devils to go 5-for-5 on 4th downs, eventually losing on a 2-pt conversion.

Previewing Clemson's 2026 season

The Tigers and Swinney are aiming to regain their footing atop the ACC. Clemson brings back Chad Morris who was the Tiger’s OC from 2011-2014.

The Tigers, as per usual under Swinney, didn't mine the portal as hard as other teams. As of now their starters are all expected to be returning players led by a first-year starting quarterback, Christopher Vizzina.

True freshman Naeem Burroughs and Connor Salmin, 4-star wide receivers, will be vying for the third and final starting wideout spot. Their big offensive portal addition was SMU running back Chris Johnson Jr. who will be a solid second back.

Defensively, not much has changed for Clemson. They looked to address their secondary issues by acquiring safeties Jerome Carter III and Corey Myrick, both of whom are expected to start. At defensive back they picked Auburn's Donovan Starr.

Prediction

Clemson is predicted to somewhat get back on track this season, with many prognosticators putting them in the 8-win range. I see one of these wins coming against the Orange in a 35-10 victory.

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