Reaching CFP ‘Tall Task’ for Clemson
By: Gavin Oliver May 24, 2026

CBS Sports has released its ACC post-spring power rankings, stacking up all 17 of the league’s football teams heading into the summer.

Last season’s national championship runner-up, Miami, is No. 1. SMU, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Virginia round out the top five, in that order.

Clemson checks in at No. 6.

“Clemson’s past two high school recruiting classes ranked No. 21 and No. 31 in the 247Sports team rankings. That’s good by ACC standards but poor by the standards of a recent national powerhouse,” CBS Sports’ David Cobb wrote. “Though the Tigers are now taking more transfers than before, they aren’t using the portal to accumulate stars. This year’s haul slots in at No. 66 in the 247Sports transfer rankings.”

Clemson enters the upcoming season hoping to bounce back from a disappointing 7-6 season in 2025 after starting the year ranked No. 4 in the preseason AP Poll with national title aspirations.

The Tigers have made seven College Football Playoff appearances under head coach Dabo Swinney but have made the playoff just once since 2020 (in 2024). And Cobb believes returning to the playoff will be a “tall task” for Swinney’s team in 2026.

“If there were an established star quarterback in the fold, maybe it would be easier to envision the Tigers returning to the top of the conference,” Cobb wrote. “But the job belongs to unproven redshirt junior Christopher Vizzina, who will be working under the direction of offensive coordinator Chad Morris, who is back in the OC role after holding it previously from 2011-14. There is enough skill talent around Vizzina and enough proven production on defense for Clemson to finish in the league’s upper third.

“But reaching the playoff will be a tall task for a program coming off a 7-6 campaign.”

Here’s where all of Clemson’s 2026 conference opponents stand in CBS Sports’ post-spring ACC power rankings:

  • Sept. 19: vs. North Carolina – (No. 14)
  • Sept. 25 (Fri.): at Cal – (No. 10)
  • Oct. 3: vs. Miami – (No. 1)
  • Oct. 24: vs. Virginia Tech – (No. 7)
  • Oct. 31: at Florida State – (No. 12)
  • Nov. 7: at Syracuse – (No. 15)
  • Nov. 14: vs. Georgia Tech – (No. 9)
  • Nov. 20 (Fri.): at Duke – (No. 11)

USA Today also recently released its post-spring ACC rankings, and the Tigers are around the same spot there, coming in at No. 7.

USA Today placed Clemson at No. 24 nationally in its post-spring college football top 25, while the Tigers are No. 22 in CBS Sports’ post-spring top 25. Fox Sports’ post-spring top 25 has Clemson at No. 22 as well.  

Clemson will kick off its 2026 campaign when it squares off against LSU at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La., on Sept. 5 (7:30 p.m., ABC).

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney waits to run down the hill before the Tigers’ game against Troy on September 6, 2025 at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, S.C. (Bart Boatwright/The Clemson Insider)