Around this time a year ago, former ESPN analyst and current Fox Sports betting expert Chris “The Bear” Fallica correctly called his shot on Clemson.

While multiple other national analysts were picking the Tigers to win the national title, Fallica famously said he was “pumping the brakes” on the 2025 preseason hype and the “Clemson love affair.”

Of course, Clemson went on to suffer a disappointing 7-6 season. Now, Fallica is maintaining a similarly skeptical stance on Clemson ahead of the 2026 season.

Fallica says he’s been “super high” on the Tigers in recent history, prior to last year, but that this is simply “not the same” Clemson team that used to regularly make the College Football Playoff.  

“You’re looking at a team that didn’t really do anything in the portal,” Fallica said on the Fox Sports Bear Bets gambling show. “Your offensive line was terrible last year. The running game was not explosive. You’ve got a new starting quarterback. You had like five defensive players drafted off that defense, and your defense really wasn’t wreaking a lot of havoc last year. The eyes tell you they are not the same. This is a team that I had been super high on in recent years. Now last year, I was dead against them and I tried to warn people when people were picking them to win the ACC and go to the playoff and eventually win the title. I was certainly low on that.

“We’ll see what happens. You’re going to be a 7.5-point home dog against Miami when Miami comes to town. You’re a double-digit dog in Baton Rouge Week 1. The numbers are what the numbers are. This is not the Clemson that we saw from, what, 2014 to 2020, ’21.”

Fallica made those comments because some Clemson fans were upset after betting markets set the team’s regular season win total for the 2026 season at just 7.5 wins.

“They usually are pretty sensible fans up there in terms of their expectations,” Fallica said of Clemson fans. “When they were getting slighted and thought not to be as good as Bama, they were justified in that with a lot of their records against some of the SEC teams. But I would have thought that they’d be a little more rational and levelheaded. Certainly in this era when it’s clear the era of college football that we now have been in for the last three years, we have seen a consistent dropoff in their level.”

After the highly anticipated Sept. 5 season opener at LSU, Clemson plays its home opener vs. Georgia Southern on Sept. 12, followed by the ACC opener at home vs. North Carolina on Sept. 19 and then a West Coast road trip to Cal on Friday, Sept. 25. Before an open date on Oct. 10, the Tigers play host to preseason ACC favorite Miami on Oct. 3.

Back in March, in his way-too-early predictions on FOX Sports, Fallica went as far as predicting that Clemson will enter its idle week with a 2-3 record:

“Here’s what the optimist will say: Last year, Clemson was 3-5, then won out to become bowl eligible. In 2024, the Tigers won the ACC title, despite having three losses. In 2023, they were 4-4 and then won out. 

“This feels different though, as a ton of defensive talent is headed to the NFL. 

“Clemson helps LSU kick off the Lane Kiffin era in Baton Rouge and that will be a circus-like atmosphere, to put it kindly. One would assume Clemson beats Georgia Southern and North Carolina, but a Friday night trip to Cal has flashing red lights and sirens all over it. That game will be a massive opportunity for first-year head coach Tosh Lupoi to pick up an early signature win and for sophomore QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele to throw his name into the class of the nation’s best. 

“The trip to Berkeley will be followed up with a visit from Miami. Talent-wise, these teams are heading in opposite directions. Miami is becoming what Clemson once was in the ACC, and it’s rare that the Hurricanes don’t get up for a big game under Cristobal. The Canes will not look past Clemson. 

“If things go as I see them going, that puts Clemson 2-3 entering its idle week. Whew, that would make for interesting times in Death Valley.”

Clemson is ranked No. 23 in the preseason Coaches Poll, while the Tigers are not ranked in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll for the first time since 2011.