A 7-6 record is certainly not what Clemson had envisioned or expected when it began the 2025 season as the No. 4 team in the country, with College Football Playoff and national title aspirations.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, that’s the result they got at the end of a disappointing campaign. Clemson’s 7-6 record marks its worst since 2010, Dabo Swinney’s second season as the full-time head coach. The Tigers saw their 14-year streak of winning at least eight games in a season come to a close, as Clemson had won eight or more games every year since 2011.

With the season now officially in the books, Clemson defensive end Will Heldt is already looking ahead to 2026 and says the Tigers intend to use the way this year went as internal motivation going into next year.

“I think we’re gonna keep that sour taste in our mouth a little bit, use that as fuel to the fire, but just know that this season isn’t how we wanted it to go,” Heldt said. “We gotta execute better, we gotta be better. That’s our plan.”

After a 1-3 and then a 3-5 start to this season, the Tigers reeled off four straight wins to end the regular season and were looking to keep rolling with another victory in the Pinstripe Bowl vs. Penn State this past Saturday. But Clemson’s winning streak was halted with a 22-10 defeat at the hands of the Nittany Lions at Yankee Stadium in New York.

Despite failing to finish 2025 with five wins in a row, do the Tigers still feel like they have pretty good momentum heading into 2026, or was the momentum lost with the outcome in the Pinstripe Bowl?

“Obviously not the way we wanted to finish it, but I think we feel good moving forward about what we have coming back,” Heldt. “We’re excited to go rebuild and chase a championship.”

Heldt was a big bright spot on the Tigers’ defense this season after transferring to Clemson following two productive seasons for Purdue. The 6-foot-6, 260-pounder earned third-team All-ACC honors and led the Tigers in sacks (7.5) and tackles for loss (15.5), while tallying 46 total tackles, two pass breakups, 10 quarterback hurries and a forced fumble across 13 games (all starts).

Heldt, who will be back at Clemson for his senior season in 2026, is optimistic about the defensive unit heading into the offseason and its potential for next year.

“I think we have a good group coming back,” he said. “We’ve got some freshmen coming in, too. We’ll see what else we add to that. But excited about the future.”

–Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images