The Clemson Tigers had an up-and-down 2024 college football season yet still found the kind of success that most programs can only dream of achieving.
They won 10 games, reaching the double-digit mark for the 13th time in the last 14 years, and won the ACC championship, defeating the SMU Mustangs. That earned them a spot in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff, where they were defeated by the Texas Longhorns, 38-24.
Clemson needed some help to get into the conference title game, as the Miami Hurricanes’ loss to the Syracuse Orange in the final week of the regular season punched their ticket and they took full advantage.
Heading into the 2025 campaign, the Tigers look like they are going to be contending for another ACC title with one of the most talented rosters in college football.
Star quarterback Cade Klubnik is back for his fourth season and his top three receivers from 2024, Antonio Williams, Bryant Wesco Jr. and T.J. Moore, are all back.
On the defensive side of the ball, Clemson has a new leader with Tom Allen, formerly of the Penn State Nittany Lions, taking over as defensive coordinator from Wes Goodwin.
He is inheriting an incredibly talented group, headlined by defensive end T.J. Parker, who could be in the mix as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Fellow defensive linemen DeMonte Capehart and Peter Woods are also returning, with Will Heldt joining the mix as a transfer from the Purdue Boilermakers.
Linebacker Sammy Brown, who was an immediate contributor as a freshman and forced his way into the starting lineup, is back for Year 2 as well.
This is a team that many people will be keeping an eye on in 2025 as they look to be legitimate championship contenders.
To live up to those expectations, the returning players will have to exact some revenge on a team that defeated them this past fall — the Louisville Cardinals.
Their rematch, set for Nov. 14, is the game that will define the Tigers’ upcoming campaign, in the opinion of David Hale of ESPN.
“The game comes on the heels of Clemson’s annual rivalry matchup against Florida State, and no visit to Louisville is easy. This Cards team might be Jeff Brohm’s best, and after Louisville whooped Clemson in Death Valley a year ago, it makes sense to think this is the showdown that will tell us how far the Tigers have come in their quest to get back to a national title game,” he wrote.
Many people would have pointed to Clemson’s season opener against the LSU Tigers as the defining matchup in 2025. But, fans can look back to 2024 to understand why it wasn’t selected.
Last fall, the Tigers were dominated by the Georgia Bulldogs and it didn’t keep them out of the ACC Championship or College Football Playoff. But, the loss to Louisville nearly did. It’s why the Tigers needed that last Miami loss to get into the ACC title game.
It is going to be a challenge navigating a rapidly improving conference as four teams, including the Cardinals, are in the way-too-early 2025 rankings.
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This content is reposted from the source: https://www.si.com/college/clemson/football/clemson-tigers-revenge-game-doubles-make-or-break-acc-football-game
