Clemson unranked in preseason poll for first time since 2011
By Jacob Moss
Published:
The Clemson Tigers entered the 2025 season with massive expectations. After several seasons of subpar play, many saw last year’s squad as the one that would reclaim the elite standard head coach Dabo Swinney established in the second half of the 2010s.
The Tigers entered last season ranked No. 4 in the country but finished unranked after a disastrous 7-6 campaign in which just about everything that could have gone wrong did.
Now Clemson is entering what many view as a pivotal season in the Dabo Swinney era, and they are doing so ranked outside of the preseason AP Top-25 for the first time in 15 years.
According to ESPN Insights, this is the first time since 2011 that the Tigers will enter a new campaign unranked. For perspective, 2011 was just the third full season of Swinney’s tenure as head coach, and it was also Tahj Boyd’s first season starting at quarterback.
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Simply put, it’s been a long time since Clemson has been in this position, and it perfectly illustrates the predicament the once-elite program now faces.
Dabo’s legacy has long been cemented in Clemson lore, and nothing will ever alter what he means to that school and community. That said, there’s no denying the reality that the program he built into a national powerhouse has fallen off considerably over the past 5 years.
If Swinney can’t get things back on track in 2026, there could be some very uncomfortable conversations taking place in Tigerland come January.
