The ESPN analyst reflects on his failed national title prophecy as Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney reshuffles his staff following a season of underachievement despite a roster packed with NFL talent.
Fresh off an appearance in the College Football Playoff for 2024, the Clemson Tigers appeared to have momentum to make another run for the 2025 season.
The Tigers struggled early in the 2024 campaign before making a run to the ACC championship and knocking off SMU to win the conference. Clemson competed with Texas for much of the first round of the CFP before the Longhorns’ firepower took over.
With Cade Klubnik set to return, the Tigers should have been a preseason favorite to make the CFP national championship. Instead, Clemson immediately fizzled after a Week 1 loss to LSU.
During an episode of ESPN's College GameDay, Rece Davis admitted he made a bad prediction on Clemson last year.
“I was fully on the Clemson is going to bounce back and win the National Championship bandwagon last year," Davis said.
"I mean, I love their defensive line, love their linebackers. I believe Klubnik had taken a step forward based on the way they played in the playoff.”
Based on the results of the 2026 NFL Draft, the Tigers should have been much better than they were last season.
Clemson offensive tackle Blake Miller and defensive tackle Peter Woods were taken in the first round. In total, the Tigers had nine players taken within the first 175 picks of the draft.
Following the draft, head coach Dabo Swinney took responsibility for the Tigers underperforming in 2025.
"We've developed well for a long time here, so it's just more confirmation," Swinney said. "We didn't get some of the results that we wanted last year, but that's on us as coaches.
"NFL teams, they don't just pick guys because they like them. They pick them because of what they see on tape."
Swinney made changes to the coaching staff in an effort to make Clemson more competitive in 2026. New offensive coordinator Chad Morris replaced Garrett Riley. New special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia should be a big help to Swinney.
The Tigers will have plenty of talent on the defensive side of the ball after an active effort in the transfer portal. Still, the team has serious questions at quarterback.