After spring practices wrapped up around the country, CBS Sports released its post-spring 138 rankings of all 138 teams in the FBS ahead of the 2026 college football season.

Clemson checked in at No. 26, up 28 spots from where the Tigers were in CBS Sports’ final 2025 rankings after finishing last season with a highly disappointing 7-6 record.

CBS Sports analyst Chip Patterson recently discussed Clemson sitting outside the top 25 of the CBS Sports 138 rankings, and he weighed in on what he sees as a “realistic expectation” for the Tigers in 2026.

“I think a realistic expectation is where our CBS Sports 138 ranking has them, which is just inside the top 30, that has them running in the same range as Louisville and SMU,” Patterson said. “But you’re the Clemson Tigers, with all those trophies in the trophy case. You’re still understanding that being on a different tier than where Miami is in your own neighborhood, says you’ve got a lot of room to grow. But I do think that all of the fresh faces will help wash out underperformance and disappointment that has defined the last couple years of Clemson Football.”

Patterson touched on the fact that Clemson had nine players taken in the 2026 NFL Draft, while also bringing up the offensive coordinator change with Chad Morris (who previously served as Clemson’s OC from 2011-14) replacing Garrett Riley, who was fired last December following three seasons as the Tigers’ OC.

“You mentioned the exit of so much NFL talent. You’ve also got a changeover at offensive coordinator,” Patterson said. “Out is Garrett Riley, in is Chad Morris. Yeah, remember him, Chad Morris? They’re going to try to recapture some of the magic that was at the beginning of that run back in the days of Tajh Boyd and the 2011 ACC Champion Clemson Tigers.”

Dabo Swinney has led the Tigers to two national championships, as well as nine ACC titles and seven appearances in the College Football Playoff, including six straight ACC titles from 2015-20 and six straight playoff berths in the same span. But Clemson has made the playoff just once since 2020, and Patterson doesn’t think the Tigers are poised for a return to national prominence in the near future.

“I think that the Clemson Tigers can be ACC-relevant,” he said. “I am not sure if Clemson is ready to get anywhere close to the perennial College Football Playoff contender that they were at the height of their powers.”