Yahoo Sports recently released its Top 25 for the 2025 college football season, and Clemson landed at No. 1 in the rankings.

Here’s what Yahoo wrote about the Tigers heading into the upcoming campaign:

“This is the Tigers’ best shot to replicate the program’s late-2010s success. This team is loaded and it doesn’t have to navigate a conference schedule like many in the SEC and Big Ten.

“Clemson’s roster continuity should go a long way, with QB Cade Klubnik returning for his third season as the starter behind an experienced and talented offensive line. The team also brings back nine starters on defense, including TJ Parker, who had 11 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss as a sophomore in 2024. He could be the top edge rusher taken in the 2026 NFL Draft with another double-digit sack season.

“Head coach Dabo Swinney said in early August that it’s now a race to be the first 16-0 team at the top level of college football and he believes his team can do it.”

Penn State, Texas, Oregon and Georgia round out Yahoo’s top five behind Clemson, while Clemson’s season-opening opponent, LSU, checked in at No. 7:

“What awaits the Tigers in Year 4 of the Brian Kelly experience? With a 29-11 record at the school, the longtime coach has been solid but hasn’t yet lifted LSU to the playoff. Garrett Nussmeier returns at QB and will be looking to improve his NFL Draft stock with another strong receiving corps.

“After five straight seasons with at least three losses, this is LSU’s best chance to compete for a national title since that iconic 2019 campaign. The schedule is a gauntlet, but this team should be well-equipped to navigate it.”

Miami (No. 10) is the highest-ranked ACC team behind Clemson in Yahoo’s preseason Top 25, while SMU came in at No. 15.

Clemson’s archrival, South Carolina, cracked the Top 25 at No. 22:

“LaNorris Sellers had one of the breakout seasons last year as he rushed for 674 yards and threw for 2,534 yards. Mike Shula, the former Alabama head coach, will call the plays for the Gamecocks after serving as an offensive assistant last season.

“The defense may not be as great as it was a season ago. South Carolina lost six of its top seven tacklers from 2024 and will face a schedule that includes LSU, Alabama and Clemson.”

Elsewhere on Yahoo Sports, Nick Bromberg named the non-quarterback to watch for Clemson this season – sophomore linebacker Sammy Brown:

“Brown made just six starts but was one of the most impactful players on Clemson’s defense as a true freshman in 2024. Brown was second on the team with 80 tackles and had five sacks to go along with 6.5 other tackles for loss. He became just the seventh Clemson player ever to have 10 or more tackles for loss as a true freshman.

“Brown returns to team with senior Wade Woodaz to patrol the second level of Clemson’s defense. Brown could easily be a first-team All-American by the end of the season and a household name if Clemson makes a deep College Football Playoff run.”

Bromberg cited the wide receiving corps as Clemson’s best position group, while he pegged the matchup at Louisville on Friday, Nov. 14 as the biggest game for the Tigers:

“Are the two bookends against SEC opponents bigger? Possibly, especially when considering Clemson’s recent struggles against teams from the Southeastern Conference. However, the Tigers got into the playoff last year via the ACC’s automatic berth despite two losses to SEC opponents in the regular season, and they can easily do that again if things don’t go as well as we think.

“That’s why the trip to Louisville on a Friday night late in the season makes this category. It comes on a short week for the Tigers after a home game against Florida State and is also the last ACC game of the season. That win vs. Pitt was Clemson’s last game of the ACC season in 2024, and the Tigers were left needing help from either Miami or SMU over the final two weeks of the season to win the league title. It’s a situation that Clemson does not want to be in again in 2025.”

Clemson kicks off the 2025 campaign with the highly anticipated showdown against LSU at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 30 (7:30 p.m., ABC).