On3’s Ari Wasserman planted a bold flag this week with his 10 more bold predictions for the 2025 college football season. Wasserman is high on Clemson and predicted that they will beat LSU in Week 1 and go wire-to-wire undefeated to the CFP. He frames it as a reversal on Dabo Swinney skepticism and as the surest conference pick on the board.
"There have been people who have thought Swinney was cooked at Clemson. I’m one of them. I’ve written time and time again over the course of the past few seasons that Swinney’s stubbornness in his refusal to go all-in on the transfer portal is coaching malpractice. But here we are, in 2025, and Clemson has one of the best rosters from top to bottom in the sport. There is no team I’m more sure will win its conference than the Tigers. So here is a bold prediction that Clemson won’t only beat LSU in the opener, but it will go wire-to-wire undefeated into the College Football Playoff like Oregon did last year."Ari Wasserman
There’s no question the Tigers look the part on paper. Cade Klubnik enters 2025 as the AP preseason first-team All-America quarterback after a 3,600-yard, 39-TD season, and Clemson led the conference in preseason All-ACC selections with Klubnik voted ACC Preseason Player of the Year. Clemson also opened at No. 4 in the AP Top 25 with Miami at No. 10.
Clemson starts with LSU on Aug. 30 at Memorial Stadium, then navigates an ACC slate that includes Florida State, Louisville and road trips to Boston College and North Carolina, plus a date with SMU.
Miami does not face Clemson in the regular season, so any showdown would most likely be in the ACC Championship Game. The Hurricanes’ September is front-loaded (Notre Dame, Florida), then the league race takes shape. If Miami stacks wins there, it will control its path to the conference title game — where Clemson has made a habit of closing the deal.
Is it realistic for Clemson?
Elite QB play, multiple preseason All-Americans, and a schedule that brings LSU and Florida State to Death Valley are all reasons to believe they might be able to do it. But a perfect run is extremely difficult. It means no slip-ups. No Saturdays wasted. And having to get through two SEC matchups on opposite ends of the season. With Miami also potentially waiting for the Tigers in the ACC title game, it shouldn't be a foregone conclusion just yet.