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Clemson

Joel Klatt explains why he's buying stock in Clemson in 2025

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax•07/21/25•

BarkleyTruax

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Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney arm in arm with players for the "Walk of Champions" before the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl with Kentucky at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, Friday, December 29, 2023.

Joel Klatt is buying what Clemson is selling in 2025. The FOX Sports analyst sees the Tigers as a major player in the College Football Playoff conversation in 2025 for a number of reasons.

Returning 16 starters from last year’s group, Clemson is one of the most experienced teams in the country. Based on how they finished in 2024, Klatt suggests you hop on the bandwagon before it’s too late.

“Clemson is just really, really good,” Klatt said on his show. “I think they’re going to have an outstanding year. They finished with 10 wins last year, snuck into the playoff. They beat SMU in that championship game. Gave Texas everything they could handle. Dabo (Swinney) seems to have this confidence back.”

2024 marked the first season that Clemson made the College Football Playoff since the 2019 season. The Tigers made the CFP in its previous four-team format four times in five years between 2015 and 2019, but weren’t able to make the cut in the half decade before it moved to a 12-team format.

Not only did Clemson’s rich history of success in the CFP era continue in 2024, it gave several key players the chance to return to Swinney’s program with playoff experience. While the Tigers were unable to make it out of the first round, Klatt sees Clemson telling a different story this fall.

“This team is going to be loaded, and it’s not a very difficult schedule,” Klatt said. “You could make a strong argument that their two most difficult games are non-conference games. They’re going to have LSU in the opener, and they’re going to have South Carolina. I think both of those games are tougher than any game they have on the rest of their schedule.”

The rest of Clemson’s schedule features key matchups against SMU at home and road games against Georgia Tech and Louisville. They avoid Miami completely, but it’s possible the two could meet in the ACC Championship game or even in a CFP game under the right circumstances.

Before the Tigers can worry about their ACC opponents, they’ll have to get through LSU first. Luckily for Clemson, they host LSU — which they will hope gives them a home field advantage for the Aug. 30 matchup. Clemson won’t have to worry about South Carolina until the regular season finale after Thanksgiving, where they’ll travel to Columbia to take on the Gamecocks in the Palmetto Bowl.