Ex-ESPN analyst and former Georgia/NFL linebacker David Pollack likened Clemson’s highly disappointing 2025 season to Florida State’s disastrous 2024 campaign.

In an episode of his See Ball Get Ball show, following Clemson’s 34-21 loss to Syracuse last Saturday, Pollack called the Tigers “this year’s FSU.”

“You know what I learned about Clemson after this game right here, after the Syracuse game? I learned that they’re this year’s FSU. That’s what I learned,” Pollack said.

Of course, Florida State climbed back to the ACC mountaintop in 2023, finishing the year with a 13-1 overall record, going 8-0 in conference play and winning their first conference championship since 2014.

However, the Seminoles fell off the mountain entirely in 2024, finishing with a 2-10 record (1-7 ACC). It marked FSU’s first season with double-digit losses since 1974 – two years before Bobby Bowden took over as the program’s head coach.

Meanwhile, Clemson came into this season having won the 2024 ACC Championship, its eighth conference title in 10 years. The Tigers were fresh off a College Football Playoff appearance in 2024, entered this season ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll and were one of the media darlings of the offseason, with multiple national analysts – including Pollack — even picking Dabo Swinney’s team to win the national title.

Now, just four weeks into the season, Clemson sits at 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the ACC. It marks the worst start in the Dabo Swinney era and the first time the Tigers have started a season 1-3 since 2004, as well as Clemson’s worse start in conference play since 2010.

“A lot of things to talk about. A lot of positives. A lot of guys returning. A lot of big names. A lot of reasons for hope, and then so far, you’ve been every bit as disappointing as FSU was a year ago,” Pollack said of Clemson.

“Do they go two wins? Maybe not. But right now, there’s not a bigger disappointment in all of college football than what they’ve been so far.”

The Tigers will try to right the ship during the bye week and get back on track when they travel to North Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 4 (noon, ESPN). 

There’s plenty of issues for Swinney and his program to sort out.

“[Against Syracuse] was the defense. We’ve seen the defense play OK in spurts,” Pollack said. “But either way, man, you’ve got problems. You’ve got a lot of problems. I don’t know which one has to get fixed first. But gah, dog, it is not good times and there is not a single person who’s all in, in Clemson.”