There is a ton of hype around Dabo Swinney's Clemson football program going into the 2025 season. Most people around the sport see this year’s team as the best since 2020. That means that the expectations are equal to those of that Trevor Lawrence-led team, to compete for a national championship.
Both the national media and odds makers around the country believe this team has the chance to do it. Clemson is the favorite to win the ACC title for the second year in a row. ESPN’s predictor gives the Tigers a 34 percent chance to do so while FanDuel has them at +240 odds.
When looking at the national championship odds Clemson has the seventh best with +1300 according to MGM and a 3.8% chance from ESPN’s predictor.
The excitement in Death Valley is real. Everything is in line for Swinney to take the Tigers back to the national championship game. The biggest reason for this is the roster Swinney has built for the 2025 season.
For the last few years, Swinney has been hearing from both Clemson critics and fans alike that his approach to roster building doesn’t work anymore and will be the reason he won’t ever win again. Now going into 2025, Swinney’s patience and dedication to development seems to have paid off with the bevy of talent he has collected.
Dabo was right all along, and here's why.