Mark Ingram, Urban Meyer endorse Clemson over 9.5 wins in 2025

Clemson surprised many by battling back from a troubling season-opening loss to Georgia to win the ACC Championship in 2024. Now the Tigers enter the 2025 season as one of college football’s buzzy picks to potentially win it all.

And you can count Mark Ingram and Urban Meyer among those envisioning a Clemson revival in 2025.

Ingram believes the Tigers’ 2025 championship hype is well-warranted, especially given the wealth of returning talent, key among those three-year starting quarterback Cade Klubnik.

“Cade Klubnik … he chose to come back rather than forgoing his eligibility and possibly being one of the best quarterbacks in the (2025 NFL) Draft. I think that is a huge reason why Clemson will hit the over on this mark … in my opinion,” Ingram said this week on The Triple Option podcast. “They’ve got receivers coming back, Dabo (Swinney) hit the portal at key positions. They’ve got key guys on defense coming back, two in the secondary, two on the D-line, a linebacker, four starters on the O-line coming back. And the ACC, in my opinion, just hasn’t been that strong as of late. We saw Florida State have a down year, they’ve got to do better this year. Miami with Cam Ward leaving.

“So I think (Clemson is) in prime position to make a run at the ACC Championship, … but also maybe make some noise in the College Football Playoff (and compete) for a national title,” Ingram concluded. “With this quarterback, with Dabo and his pedigree and how they have addressed the offseason, I think Clemson is in their best position in long time to shoot for a national title.”

For his part, Meyer is a believer in the Tigers’ superior talent, including a 2025 roster that some believe could have as many as six first-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.

“Todd McShay has six Clemson Tigers (being drafted in the first round of the 2026 draft), that’s pretty impressive. That’s Clemson of old,” Meyer added. “They went on a dry spell for awhile where the NFL Draft came and went and Clemson didn’t make an impact. If they get six first-rounders, I put them well over the 9.5 (wins) that Vegas has them at.

“However, I give Dabo and I give Clemson credit, they’re playing LSU and at South Carolina. Those are their non-conference games, that’s a rugged … they’ve got a tough schedule. … If it’s really six first-rounders, they’re going to have a hell of a year and go deep into the Playoffs.”

Dabo Swinney breaks down challenges of Clemson’s 2025 schedule

Clemson is coming off a College Football Playoff appearance and returns starting quarterback Cade Klubnik. That has many picking the Tigers for a repeat appearance.

But there’s one major roadblock. Dabo Swinney explained.

“Man, we’ve got a tough schedule. We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Swinney said on ACC PM after spring meetings. “We’re going to play LSU, they’re a really good football team. They’ll probably be a top-five team, one of the best quarterbacks in the country.”

That’s the opener. Win that one and things start to look a lot more favorable the rest of the way. But there are no gimmes.

All that said, Swinney is pretty confident his Clemson team can manage. Having a veteran quarterback like Klubnik helps a lot, but the rest of the roster has been developed too.

“I think we’re a team that’s got a chance, and I think any time you can compete in your league good things can come from that,” Swinney said. “We won the league eight out of the last 10 years and everything great has come from that. Because it’s created a lot of opportunity post-ACC play. So 17 teams, I think there’s going to be a bunch of teams that are good enough to win it. We’ll be one of them.”

— On3’s Thomas Goldkamp contributed to this report.