The national media forgets fast, and their list of teams worth believing in seems to get shorter every year—eIf you’ve spent the last two decades living and breathing Clemson football, you know disrespect when you see it. The so-called national experts aren’t making predictions—they’re taking shots. As our Tigers get ready to storm the other Death Valley for the 2026 opener, the storylines are already set: Lane Kiffin is the new king in Baton Rouge, and Clemson is just background noise for his big night. That’s not just wrong—it’s insulting.ers are just a footnote in his debut.
CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford has Clemson walking into Baton Rouge as an 11.5-point underdog. That’s the biggest number Vegas has thrown at Dabo’s Tigers since the 2024 opener against Georgia. Let that sink in.
The Portal vs. The Pedigree
The so-called experts can’t get enough of the shiny new toys, and this year, those toys came straight from the transfer portal. Clemson sticks to its roots, building from within and making smart moves on the coaching staff. LSU? They’re chasing the quick fix, and the media is eating it up.
“One of these teams signed the nation’s top-ranked transfer class, while the other is slotted at No. 66 overall. You can probably guess which one owned the portal,” Crawford writes. “Lane Kiffin is out for blood in Year 1 with the Tigers with a new-look roster and coaching staff in Baton Rouge. Dabo Swinney made necessary personnel changes at his program as well but is running out of opportunities to get back to the top. Clemson hasn’t won a College Football Playoff game since 2019 and has lost three straight season openers. Spoiling Kiffin’s debut at Tiger Stadium is going to be a challenge as a double-digit underdog, the largest spread against Clemson since Georgia (12.5 points) to open the 2024 campaign.”
Settling the Score
Let’s call it what it was: losing 17-10 to LSU in Death Valley last year hurt. Both teams limped to 7-6, but somehow only one is getting crowned a contender this summer. Clemson was a 4.5-point favorite in that game, and you better believe that loss has been burning in the Upstate ever since.
Dabo has retooled his staff and locked in on what matters. While Lane Kiffin juggles a roster full of hired guns, Clemson is rolling in with a team that knows what it means to fight for each other. The national media says we’re running out of chances. We say Clemson is at its best when nobody believes.
September 5th isn't just a game; it's September 5 isn’t just another date on the calendar. It’s a chance for Clemson to remind the country that championships aren’t bought—they’re built, brick by brick, in the Valley.