Clemson may enter the 2026 season without the national acclaim that has surrounded the program for much of the Dabo Swinney era, but the Tigers’ head coach doesn’t believe anyone on the schedule will be taking his team lightly.
Asked Tuesday about Clemson potentially being overlooked following a disappointing 2025 season, Swinney quickly dismissed the idea.
“Ain’t nobody going to overlook Clemson,” Swinney said. “We’ve won too many games. We’ve won too many championships for people to overlook Clemson. We’re going to get everybody’s best shot every single week.”
The Tigers enter the new season unranked in the AP Poll after what Swinney himself described Tuesday as one of only two “bad seasons” in his 17 full seasons as Clemson’s head coach.
Still, Swinney believes Clemson’s history ensures the Tigers remain circled on opponents’ schedules.
“You better understand that as a Clemson football player,” Swinney said. “You’re going to get it when the schedule comes out: ‘When do we play Clemson?’”
That starts immediately as Clemson opens the season Saturday night on the road against LSU, an environment Swinney called about as difficult an opener as his team could face.
Regardless of where Clemson sits in the preseason conversation, Swinney knows reputation alone won’t help the Tigers in Baton Rouge.
“I promise you, the people we play, they’re not going to feel sorry for Clemson or overlook Clemson,” Swinney said. “We’ve got to be ready.”
