The preseason hype train continues to roll on for the Clemson football team.

The Tigers have generated a ton of buzz this summer, not only as a top contender to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff for the second straight season, but some are calling Dabo Swinney’s team a national title contender.

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit is the latest addition to the hype train, saying that he believes the Tigers are primed to jump back into the nation’s elite in 2025.

“When I say make a jump, I think it’s Clemson kind of coming back to the party,” Herbstreit said on the Pat McAfee Show. “They’ve been away ever since Trevor Lawrence left.”

After a three-year absence, Clemson returned to the playoff last season, securing an automatic bid after winning the ACC Championship. However, the Tigers were bounced in the first round by Texas.

With Cade Klubnik having another year of experience under his belt and Swinney hiring Tom Allen away from Penn State to run the defense, which was a weak point last year, are two major reasons why Herbstreit sees the Tigers as a preseason favorite to make some noise.

“I think Cade is ready to kind of handle it,” Herbstreit added. “And I think they’ve got enough defense, new defensive coordinator, Tom Allen takes over as their guy. I think they will be back.”

It won’t take long to see exactly how this Clemson team measures up, seeing as LSU visits Death Valley to kick off the season on August 30. Ironically, the last time the Tigers played for a national title, it was against the Bayou Bengals, a game LSU won 42-25.

The stakes won’t be quite as high this time around, but there is no doubt the winner will have an early leg up when it comes to their playoff resume.

“By the way, they open up with LSU. That is the way college football should be,” Herbstreit said. “If you are a player, they are so excited to play in these big games. They don’t want to be in these games where they are favored by 20 or 30 points.”

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