ACC betting preview: Is Clemson built for a championship?

Pamela Maldonado breaks down why she has confidence in Clemson making the College Football Playoff. (0:59)
Each offseason in college football is good for one thing: selective memory. We forget the flaws, inflate the flash and let a couple highlight reels convince us that what's coming is a rocket ship to the top.
Enter the 2025 Clemson Tigers.
The Tigers are once again the ACC favorites, the media darling for a top seed and a preseason playoff "lock" if you're into simulations or early projections. Cade Klubnik is entering his third year under center as starter, the wide receiver room is deep with NFL-level talent, and the defense has reloaded with top-rated recruits ready to pop.
Strip away the noise, and this looks like a team that's definitely good, potentially great, and absolutely capable of making the College Football Playoff. But a national title run? That's where I hit pause. I'm buying in on Klubnik's Heisman potential and a postseason berth, but not the trophy.
The good: The return of (some) Death Valley dominanceKlubnik is coming off a season where he threw the third-most passing scores in the country and might be the most polished returning quarterback outside of Carson Beck. He found success against a Texas Longhorns secondary in last season's CFP, despite having no run game to support him, and showcased his mobility, accuracy and efficiency. He now enters 2025 with what every Heisman contender wants: full command of the offense.
Clemson returns four starting offensive linemen and its top three receivers: Antonio Williams, Bryant Wesco Jr. and T.J. Moore. This offense has continuity and chemistry and, on paper, looks built to hum.
Defensively, there's optimism. New defensive coordinator Tom Allen gives Clemson a fresh identity. He brings 30 years of experience and a history of building tough, disciplined defenses at Indiana and Penn State. Allen is a clear upgrade from Wes Goodwin, whose units never quite forged an identity.
T.J. Parker returns as the team's leading pass rusher alongside Peter Woods, DeMonte Capehart and Purdue transfer Will Heldt, making the Tigers' front four potentially the most disruptive in the ACC. It's not vintage Brent Venables chaos-ball, but it doesn't have to be.
Maybe the most favorable ingredient of all: Clemson has a highly favorable schedule in a conference that could have a down year. The Tigers avoid any major Big Ten or SEC gauntlet. If they beat LSU in the opener and take care of South Carolina to close the season, an undefeated year is on the table, making this the easiest path to the playoffs for any top-five team.
The bad: Good team, great quarterback, but still key flawsI'm not ready to bet on Clemson to win the national championship because their defense held them back last year and could again this year. For all the love the front-line gets, Clemson ranked 51st in success rate allowed and 64th in yards allowed per play, giving up nearly five yards per carry (90th nationally).
The secondary lacks proven depth, and while the Tigers' linebacker corps is solid, it is not elite. This defense could be good enough to win the ACC, but it's still a step behind elite units like those at Georgia or Michigan. If you're not built to win in the trenches against those teams, you're not built to win a title.
The issues offensively stem from a lack of big-play punch. Klubnik is efficient, but the Tigers ranked 80th in yards per successful dropback while averaging just under 12 yards per completion (79th in the FBS). For all the touchdowns Klubnik threw, there weren't enough deep shots.
The Tigers aren't overrated, they're just not yet fully built to be the best team in the country. And that's the difference between a playoff contender and a national title favorite.
Other ACC predictionsLouisville Cardinals to go UNDER 8.5 regular-season wins (+120)
The bad outweighs the good when it comes to the Cardinals, at least early. Louisville's defense was a problem last year (106th against the pass), and they lost their best cover corner and top two pass rushers. That's not a small fix, and while they hit the portal hard this offseason, the Cardinals are also banking on USC transfer quarterback Miller Moss to instantly click as a pure pocket passer in a new system behind a newly-assembled offensive line. Louisville is good enough to beat easier teams on the schedule but not complete enough of a team to trust to win nine games.
Syracuse Orange to go UNDER 5.5 regular-season wins (-190)
Syracuse might be a three-win team. The Orange lost their top three receivers, star running back LeQuint Allen Jr. and most of their defensive playmakers. Not to mention they'll be leaning on a quarterback with four career appearances (Rickie Collins) to survive one of the toughest schedules in the country. They open with Tennessee in Atlanta, then hit the road against Clemson, SMU, then Miami and Notre Dame in back-to-back weeks. The Orange defense gave up five yards per rush last year (117th) and now must replace nearly everyone in the front seven. With major questions at quarterback, depth and offensive explosiveness, wins could be hard to come by, especially after mid-October.
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