The Clemson Tigers may not want to admit it yet, but they’ve reached rock bottom. We thought it couldn’t get worse than struggling against Troy in Week 2, and then they lost to Georgia Tech — and now, amid a slog of a performance at home against Syracuse, there’s a chance they’re handed their third loss of the season (and second to an unranked team). This team keeps spiraling, and no one can figure out what’s going wrong.
If there’s one team that could probably help them figure out how things have gone awry, it’s ironically enough Florida State. Like Clemson, the Noles collapsed after national title expectations in 2024. Now, they've got a win over Alabama and are rolling atop the ACC. How'd they do it? For one, Mike Norvell took responsibility, and for two, he had the humility to clean house with his assistants and bring in better coordinators.
This team needs just as much offensive help as it does defensive help, and it’s clear that until Dabo Swinney realizes that, the Tigers will continue to disappoint and play well below their expectations. This season was supposed to be the year the Tigers contended for a national championship; now they might not even contend in the ACC.
Cade Klubnik’s struggles aren’t just his problem, it’s an offensive coordinator problem too
After the disappointing win against Troy a couple of weeks ago, Swinney mentioned that the biggest problem in the game was the Klubnik didn’t play well — and hadn't over the past two weeks. Which makes you wonder: Why is a former five star who looked great last season having such a hard time? It feels like he and offensive coordinator Garrett Riley aren’t on the same page.
So, what will it take for them to get on the same page and turn this offense around? Swinney deserves some responsibility as the head coach, but he doesn’t call plays and this offense is mundane at best. If Riley can’t figure out how to get the most out of his quarterback (or whatever is left of him) then someone else needs to take over.
Again, looking at Florida State, they snatched up Gus Malzahn from UCF — and now that Seminoles offense looks night and day from what it did last year. While Malzahn isn’t a great head coach, he knows how to run an offense. That’s what Clemson needs, and Swinney refusing to admit to that is only making Clemson’s disappointing start to the 2025 season that much worse.
Dabo Swinney finally turned to the transfer portal and it’s not paying off
Swinney swore by “God’s NIL” and seemingly neglected the transfer portal when it first began sweeping the sport. Now he can’t help but dip into it, but despite picking up a couple of key pieces, specifically on defense, it’s not turning into the results the staff would have hoped for. While the offense has been in the spotlight, the defense can’t be absolved of this bad start either.
They gave up 16 points to Troy in the first half, they gave up 31 to Georgia Tech last week and gave up 24 at halftime against Syracuse. Does the defense have a coordinator problem too? The Tigers defense hasn’t played too badly overall, and truthfully, it’s probably more the offense’s shortcomings rather than the defense failing to meet expectations.
But when things aren’t going well, it’s the perfect chance to clean house and start over. That should be the road Clemson should take at this point. Even if they ultimately turn things around this season, they probably don’t want to endure another year of playing well below expectations.
Clemson hasn’t looked good all season, and if they are struggling in the ACC of all conferences, it’s clear they’re going to have a long 2025 season. This isn’t just a quarterback problem; this is an offensive problem. The pressure the defense has to make stops is increasing, and the only solution may be to clean house and figure out if new minds on the coaching staff can revive a stale and struggling team.