​The Clemson Tigers are emerging from their most disappointing season in about 15 years, finishing 7-6 and losing to Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl. That outcome marked their least successful run since 2010, when they went 6-7 during Dabo Swinney’s second full year as head coach. The program’s recent downturn has led many to question Swinney’s leadership and the overall trajectory of Clemson football, even though the Tigers had nine players selected in the NFL Draft this past spring.
Clemson will open the 2026 season against LSU for a second consecutive year, with the showdown moving to Baton Rouge. While the LSU game is one of the toughest on Clemson’s schedule, the Crain and Cone podcast on the On3 Network concentrates on Week 2’s matchup with Georgia Southern. The reason is that David Cone—yes, the former Michigan quarterback, not the longtime MLB pitcher—has predicted Clemson to fall to the Sun Belt program on September 12 and has included this game in his list of the top five upset picks for the 2026 season.
Coach Dabo Swinney and the Tigers have faced scrutiny as public perception of the program has shifted. Cone’s other upset selections include Oklahoma State over Oregon, Virginia Tech over Miami, USC over Ohio State, and SMU over Notre Dame. While those picks are bold, none of them compare to the potential blemish Clemson could endure against a Sun Belt opponent, a scenario that would ignite a storm of criticism and potentially signal deeper concerns about the program’s direction.
Historically, Clemson has not lost to a Sun Belt foe, so a defeat to Georgia Southern would represent an alarming setback that could fuel speculation about the team’s prospects for the rest of the season. The LSU game in Week 1 looms as a formidable test, and a tough result there could widen the margins of doubt before Clemson even faces Georgia Southern. On the other hand, if Clemson handles LSU and navigates its schedule well, the Tigers remain positioned to contend for nine or more wins this season. The remainder of the schedule features several manageable games, and the path to a strong season remains viable if the team responds effectively to early adversity.
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