CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney landed at No. 1 in CBS Sports’ “Week 2 Anxiety Rankings” following the Tigers’ 51-10 season-opening loss to LSU.
Compiled by college football writer Tom Fornelli, the list evaluates the nation’s most anxious fanbases and coaching situations entering the second week of the regular season. Fornelli emphasized that the concern surrounding Clemson extends far beyond a single game, pointing to multi-year program trends.
“This is about far more than one loss, as bad as Clemson’s 51-10 defeat by LSU to begin the season was. This is the continuation of a trend for Dabo Swinney and his program,” Fornelli wrote. “It’s the fourth consecutive season the Tigers have lost their season-opener, and it’s the second time in three years they’ve had their doors blown off. This year it was LSU; in 2024 it was Georgia winning 34-3.”
Continuation of Program Trends
While season-opening losses against top-tier opponents can sometimes be rationalized, Fornelli noted that Clemson’s program standard demands title contention. Between 2011 and 2022, Clemson compiled a 35-17 record against ranked opponents and a 119-23 record against Power Four competition, trailing only Alabama in winning percentage over that span.
Fornelli attributed the recent slide to Swinney’s slow adoption of structural shifts in college football.
“It’s been clear to many outside of Clemson that the program has been moving in the wrong direction for a few years now, as Swinney has been slow to embrace the foundational changes to the sport that the transfer portal and NIL have proven to be,” Fornelli wrote. “More and more, Clemson fans have begun to turn on Swinney as well. Now I wonder if Swinney sees the writing on the wall, too.”
The Bobby Bowden Comparison
Fornelli compared Swinney’s current trajectory to the twilight of Bobby Bowden’s legendary tenure at Florida State, where early championship dominance eventually gave way to plateauing performance.
“Bowden was the greatest coach in program history. He won two national titles, and from 1987-2000, the Seminoles won at least 10 games every season,” Fornelli noted. “But then came an 8-4 in 2001 and 9-5 in 2002… they never won 10 games again under Bowden. Still, Bowden hung on to the job through the 2009 season because he was Bobby Bowden, and Bobby Bowden was Florida State. It’s hard to associate Clemson football with anybody other than Dabo Swinney much the same way. But for how much longer? For the first time since his early tenure, Swinney’s starting to feel the heat.”
Broader Conference Pressure
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian landed at No. 2 on Fornelli’s list, followed by Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood, the Big Ten, and the ACC as a whole.
The ACC’s postseason picture took a hit in Week 1, as the conference went 1-5 in non-conference games against Power Four competition, compared to a combined 6-3 record for the SEC, Big Ten, and Big 12. Fornelli noted that continued non-conference struggles could force the ACC into a scenario where only its champion secures a College Football Playoff bid.
