The Clemson Tigers and head coach Dabo Swinney have landed a solid spot in the ACC Media Poll.
The Clemson Tigers and head coach Dabo Swinney are heading into the 2026 college football season facing a lot of pressure.
Last year, the Tigers opened up the season expected to be a top-tier National Championship contender. Unfortunately, by the end of the season, they were barely bowl eligible.
Right off the bat, Clemson struggled. Swinney and company ended up losing the season opener to the LSU Tigers at home. Things did not get much better from there.
While the Tigers were able to bounced back with a home win over Troy in the second game of the year, they proceeded to lose to Georgia Tech and Syracuse to drop to 1-3 on the year. When all was said and done, Clemson finished the year with a 7-6 record.
Due to the rough season, the outside noise grew much louder during the offseason. Swinney's name was talked about a lot as a potential candidate to be fired. Obviously, the Tigers did not make that move and Swinney returns for another year as the lead man.
If Clemson is unable to bounce back with a much stronger season, the noise will become deafening.
All of that being said, the results of the ACC media poll have been released. Where did the Tigers land? They are currently ranked No. 4 among ACC teams.
At the top of the conference sit the Miami Hurricanes, who came up short in the National Championship last season against the Indiana Hoosiers. Behind them and ahead of the Tigers are the SMU Mustangs and Louisville Cardinals.
Sitting at the No. 4 spot in the poll is not a bad place to be. Even though Clemson will have to earn respect back following last season, it's clear that no one is fully writing them off.
Ahead of the 2026 season, there are a few questions that need to be answered by the team. The biggest of those questions comes at the quarterback position.
No starter has been announced yet. Christopher Vizzina seems likely to be the opening week starter, but Tait Reynolds has also received a lot of praise from the coaching staff. Current Tigers quarterbacks coach Tajh Boyd recently spoke out about both players.
Hopefully, the 2026 season will be much more successful for Clemson. The season is schedule to open on September 5 on the road against LSU.
That game will be a prime opportunity for the Tigers to show that they're back on the scene as a championship contender.
