CBS Sports circled one key, potentially season-defining game for each team in the outlet’s post-spring top 25.

Clemson is No. 22 in that post-spring top 25, and CBS Sports pegged the Sept. 25 matchup at Cal as the game that could define the Tigers’ season.

When the Tigers face the Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium, it will be the first time in school history that Clemson plays a conference game on the West Coast. The game will be Clemson’s fourth all-time in the state of California, joining road games at Pacific in 1951 and USC in 1966, in addition to Clemson’s victory over Alabama in Santa Clara to win the national championship for the 2018 season.

It will be the second all-time meeting between Clemson and Cal, as the teams’ only prior meeting came in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day in 1992 (a 37-13 Cal win).

“Speaking of travel, the Tigers will make the 2,596-mile trip to Berkeley in Week 4,” CBS Sports’ Austin Nivison wrote. “Clemson will have its hands full against sophomore quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who lit up the ACC for 3,454 yards as a true freshman. Overall, last season, the Tigers’ defense was pretty good, but it gave up big numbers against better offenses. If Dabo Swinney and his squad slip up against the Golden Bears, they’ll be limping into a matchup against Miami.”

Speaking of Clemson’s matchup against Miami, it’s named as the game that could define the Hurricanes’ season.

On Oct. 3 at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, the Tigers – a seven-time College Football Playoff participant (and two-time CFP champion) – will host the Hurricanes, who are coming off an appearance in last season’s CFP national championship game.

The all-time series between Clemson and Miami is tied at seven wins apiece, but the Tigers own a 6-3 advantage in the series since Miami joined the ACC prior to the 2004 season. The Hurricanes won the most recent meeting — a 28-20, double-overtime victory at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., on Oct. 21, 2023.

“The Hurricanes have five road games on their schedule, and they’ll be heavy favorites in three of them,” Nivison wrote. “The road clash against Notre Dame, while very important, is a non-conference matchup. That leaves Clemson as a potential stumbling block in ACC play. Yes, the Tigers have taken a couple of steps backward in recent years, but they should still be in the mix for a conference championship berth this fall.”

Clemson will open the 2026 season against LSU on Sept. 5 (7:30 p.m., ABC) at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. CBS Sports tabbed the Sept. 19 game at Ole Miss as the defining game for LSU.

The only other ACC team in CBS Sports’ post-spring top 25, besides Clemson at No. 22 and Miami at No. 7, is SMU at No. 25. CBS Sports picked the Sept. 19 contest at Louisville as the defining game for the Mustangs.