Clemson AD Reveals Major Expectations for 2026 Season

The Clemson Tigers are coming off a very disappointing 2025 season, as they finished with a 7-6 record.

Entering the season, Dabo Swinney's group was projected to be contenders for the National Championship, but failed to make it to the College Football Playoff or even the ACC Title Game.

It won't be easy to have a bounce-back season either, as nine Clemson players were taken in the 2026 NFL Draft. 

With the amount of talent the Tigers had on the roster, it was a very disappointing result for the season.

This led Swinney to make some changes, bringing Chad Morris in for his second stint as Clemson's offensive coordinator and hiring Rich Bisaccia as their special teams coordinator.

"It is still Clemson and it is not 'rest on the laurels at all'… That is still the expectation of Coach [Dabo Swinney], of himself and of his program that we all have and are excited about, being a really good football team," Clemson athletic director Graham Neff said. "At the end of the day, scoreboard matters. You get into one possession or key play here or there and at the end of the day, it comes down to coaching, decision making and players to make the difference in games."

The coaching changes will play a major role in how the Tigers perform in the 2026 season, as well as younger players taking on bigger roles with key pieces off to the NFL.

Perhaps no player will be more important to Clemson's potential success than quarterback Christopher Vizzina. Vizzina is expected to take over for Cade Klubnik, who was selected by the New York Jets in the fourth round of the NFL Draft.

Vizzina appeared in five games for the Tigers in 2025, completing 45 of 71 passes (63.4 percent) for 406 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception. He added 41 yards on the ground on 25 carries.

Clemson has the talent to win the ACC and make it to the College Football Playoff, but it will come down to their new starters stepping up and to Swinney and his new coordinators helping change the culture after last season.

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