CBS Sports tabs Clemson among the most hyped teams in college football

Cade Klubnik's big 2024 campaign is one reason for the hype.

Brandon Rink · Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer · Sunday, June 08 2025

The hype train is rolling for Clemson football in 2025, as the program seeks back-to-back Playoff appearances and conference titles for the first time since its elite run from 2015-20.

CBS Sports assembled the 12 most hyped teams going into the season, with the Tigers and two scheduled foes making the cut.

"Dabo Swinney is nearly seven years removed from his second national championship, but after a long stretch that saw his Clemson program slip from its pedestal, he has a behemoth of a 2025 roster that could get back to the mountaintop. Cade Klubnik might be college football's top quarterback after he improved throughout last season, and his stacked receiving corps will only help him reach the next level as a Heisman contender. Expected improvements on defense with Tom Allen taking over the unit will make the Tigers as well-rounded as anyone," CBS' Carter Bahns said.

Bahns wrote about just what an offseason of hype can mean.

"Offseason hype is a double-edged sword, though. While it directs more attention to exciting programs, it also has a tendency to create unfair or unattainable goals. Failing to deliver on the buzz is never optimal for a coach's job security, whether it is warranted or not. Fanbase morale also takes a hit with every disappointing loss," Bahns said. "Not every promising team from this offseason can punch a playoff ticket. Some will, but others will disprove the narratives that propped them up all spring and summer."

Two teams of note to make the listing are the SEC bookends of the Clemson regular-season slate in LSU and South Carolina.

"The young tandem of quarterback LaNorris Sellers and edge rusher Dylan Stewart is the source of extreme optimism at South Carolina. That duo helped the Gamecocks build a compelling playoff résumé last fall, and following their exclusion as the fourth team out of the field, they have something to prove in their second year together. The defense lost loads of key talent to the NFL Draft, but the excitement around the returning stars largely overshadowed those departures," Bahns wrote. "Brian Kelly faces tremendous pressure as LSU enters win-now mode in 2025. He has yet to meet the lofty expectations set for him at the beginning of his tenure, yet the anticipation for this season is as palpable as it was in any of the disappointing campaigns that opened his reign atop the Tigers program. On paper, Kelly shored up his defense with the No. 1 transfer class in college football. Garrett Nussmeier is back with the potential to become next year's top NFL Draft pick, too. The hope in Baton Rouge is that all of the pieces finally come together."