"The foundation has been rock solid" - Josh Pate puts Dabo Swinney's Clemson head and shoulders above ACC competitors

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney returned the Tigers to the top table of college football last season when they were part of the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. The Tigers went through as ACC champions after beating the SMU Mustangs 34-31 in the championship game. Despite losing 38-24 to the Texas Longhorns in the first round, the optimism surrounding the program has grown.

During Friday's segment of "Josh Pate's College Football Show," CBS analyst Josh Pate broke down the reasons why Swinney's team is the best in the Atlantic Coast Conference going into the 2025 season.

"Clemson is still the No. 1 program in the ACC," Pate said (1:00). "You can say they're trending down, that's all relative, though. Clemson has a long way to trend down before they relinquish the top spot of ACC programs.

"They have won six of the last eight ACC championships, including two of the past three. No one's touching them, and they're the No. 2 talent acquisition program in the conference right now. The foundation has been rock solid.

"Organizationally, they've been rock solid. Zero doubt. You can question methodology or strategy here and there. Dabo Swinney has got the best program, Clemson's got the best program in the ACC. And it's the only program there that has a championship pedigree. The only one even to this day that I can look at them and say, 'I could see Clemson winning a national championship.'"

Dabo Swinney's Clemson ranked in top 10

The Clemson Tigers, under divisive coach Dabo Swinney, finished the 2024 season with a 10-4 record. In the 2025 season, they will return a majority of their offense with talented quarterback Cade Klubnik as one of the returnees. The Tigers also have a manageable schedule, which includes a marquee matchup against the LSU Tigers at Death Valley to start the season.

On Wednesday, Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt ranked the Tigers No. 7 in his way-too-early preseason rankings due to their settled offense.

“Klubnik is there,” Klatt said. “Four of five offensive linemen back. Look what they did against Texas, even on the road. They got to the playoff, they won the ACC. The defense was not up to Clemson’s standard, and now they’re going to go out and I think they’ll be improved.”

Apart from the schedule and returning talent, Dabo Swinney hired Tom Allen, who has extensive experience as head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers and defensive coordinator of the Penn State Nittany Lions, as his new DC.

Perhaps the biggest change for the Tigers has been Swinney's willingness to dip into the transfer portal. The Clemson coach has barely utilized the portal, but after the College Football Playoff, he recruited edge rusher Jeremiah Alexander, wide receiver Tristan Smith and defensive end Will Heldt from the portal to improve the Tigers' roster.