Clemson is ‘reemerging’ as a college football power, Joel Klatt believes
Fox Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt is high on the Clemson Tigers following the conclusion of the NCAA’s 2025 spring practice calendar and transfer portal window.
How high? On Monday, Klatt unveiled his post-spring, way-too-early Top 25 rankings for the 2025 college football season. Klatt has Clemson at No. 5 in his rankings, one spot below the Oregon Ducks at No. 4. Penn State topped Klatt’s way-too-early rankings at No. 1, followed by the Texas Longhorns at No. 2 and the Ohio State Buckeyes at No. 3.
Among the teams Clemson was ranked ahead of were Notre Dame, the Georgia Bulldogs, LSU Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide.
Klatt explained his No. 5 ranking for Clemson this way:
“I think Dabo Swinney is going to have a group that is capable of winning the national championship. Clemson is really good. Dabo’s done it before. And listen, for all the criticism that he’s gotten over the last couple of years, I’ll give it to him, man. He has stayed the course. He has been consistent. He is going to ride this Clemson culture right into what I think is almost like — it’s not like a twilight type of (thing). It’s like they are reemerging at the top end of college football.
RELATED: USA TODAY Sports’ post-spring re-rank has Clemson near No. 1
Klatt said he thought the Tigers’ 2024 season, which included 10 wins and the ninth ACC championship of the Swinney era, had gone largely overlooked.
“Even though they made the playoff, no one was really talking about them. They beat SMU in that ACC Championship Game, and you’re kind of wondering, ‘How is this going to go against Texas?’ And they played really well. They played really well against Texas. They gave Texas everything they could handle, and that Texas team was a really good football team.”
Klatt got into the specifics of why he’s so high on Clemson entering 2025, beginning with the return of Cade Klubnik at quarterback and the weapons surrounding him at wide receiver:
“They get Cade Klubnik back. Third season as a starting quarterback. He took a big step forward last year with Garrett Riley as his offensive coordinator. They’ve found something that has been missing in recent years, which is wide receiver play. Those guys are back. Top three wide receivers are back with Antonio Williams being the No. 1. Two players who played really well as freshmen last year, Bryant Wesco and T.J. Moore, all back. Love that.”
When speaking of the Tigers’ defense and the change at defensive coordinator with Tom Allen joining Swinney’s staff, Klatt praised Allen’s work and highlighted the play of standout defensive linemen T.J. Parker and Peter Woods.
“I’m a big fan of Tom Allen. Been covering him since he was the head coach at Indiana and then he was the defensive coordinator for Penn State last year. The defensive line has studs. Let’s think back to those teams that did win national championships. What did they have on the defensive side for Brent Venables, then-coordinator? Great players on the defensive line.
“And they’re gonna have that again. Two potential first-round picks in Peter Woods and T.J. Parker, so they’re loaded on defense. Talent on both lines of scrimmage and that’s what you need.”
Klatt brought up the Tigers’ 2025 schedule and how he thought it would favor Clemson.
“Listen, first and last games should be their toughest opponents. They’re going to have an opener against LSU at home, and then they’re going to have South Carolina on the road. They don’t play Miami this year. Their toughest game in the ACC is at Georgia Tech, at Louisville, and then maybe home against SMU.
Klatt closed his analysis of the Tigers with a warning to the rest of college football.
“Watch out for Clemson,” he said. “I’m just telling you right now, Dabo Swinney is going to have those boys back, and they’re going to be playing at a high level.”
Clemson’s season opener against LSU is set for Aug. 30 at Clemson Memorial Stadium. The Tigers open ACC play against Georgia Tech at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta on Sept. 13.
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