CBS Sports says Clemson lacks a historical marker for national championship run

Clemson has a lot of the elements of a national championship contender, but it did finish lower in the final CFP rankings than some recent champs.

Brandon Rink · Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer · Thursday, June 26 2025

Clemson is only missing one thing in what historically makes up a national championship contender, according to CBS Sports.

CBS' David Cobb explains the traditional formula to that kind of success and the trends lately:

Ohio State busted a decade of precedent last season when it won the national title with both a new starting quarterback and offensive coordinator. Prior to the Buckeyes' defeat of Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship, the sport's previous 10 champions had each finished in the top 13 of the prior year's CFP rankings and returned at least three of the following four:

Head coach

Offensive coordinator

Defensive coordinator

Quarterback who started at least four games in the prior year.

The 10-year run covered the entire four-team era of the CFP before a series of forces collided to allow Ohio State to break the "continuity factor." First, playoff expansion gave the Buckeyes a life raft. They wouldn't even have made a four-team CFP last season after suffering a second loss to rival Michigan in the regular season finale.

Clemson checks three of those four personnel boxes, but the Tigers finished 16th in the final CFP rankings and then 14th by the post-CFP AP Poll.

"Clemson's hiring of offensive coordinator Garrett Riley paid dividends in 2024, his second season with the program. He and quarterback Cade Klubnik are now working together for a third straight season and have plenty of returning talent at receiver and along the line. The 2024 ACC champions upgraded at defensive coordinator by hiring Tom Allen after a down season on that side by program standards," Cobb wrote.

Penn State, Texas, Georgia and Oregon make up the Tier 1 contenders in this exercise. Miami is in Tier 2 and SMU is in Tier 4. South Carolina is in Tier 6 with Clemson as a team ticking three of the four personnel boxes also but having finished outside the CFP Top 13 as well.