Hey college football fans – Clemson’s 37-0 win Saturday over Charleston Southern didn’t tell us much about the Tigers, but a few details were noticeable. Dabo Swinney and Chad Morris need to find solutions for improved play along the offensive line and at quarterback, and with no midseason transfer portal the progress must come from within. A key stretch of five remaining conference games will tell us where Clemson fits into the ACC football standings. Daniel Shirley and Bill Zimmerman take a look at the second half of the 2026 season for Tigers football and close things out by trying to answer the question: What word would you use to fill in the blank for “_____ Is The Standard” for this season’s Clemson football team. #DaboSwinney #ChadMorris #ACCfootball #ClemsonFootball #TaitReynolds #ClemsonOffense #ClemsonDefense

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Hey college football fans – Even as Dabo Swinney faces a wave of criticism in recent years, the arc of his career makes it hard for our latest guest to imagine Clemson football without him at the helm. What’s more, there’s reason for optimism as Swinney and his staff are searching for answers, Larry Williams tells us in this episode of our podcast. Yep, this is a long one. But it’s worth the time to sink into the details being offered up by one of the longest-tenured writers on the Clemson beat. Why has Clemson slid in recent years despite reports that estimate the Tigers having top-15 money in the sport? We also get into how highly former athletic director Terry Don Phillips thought of Swinney upon promoting the young assistant to head coach, how closing a resource gap changed things, the fortunate timing of some major rivals in the southeast slipping for a bit, and how one or two particular positions in 2026 tend to reflect the bigger picture. We’re glad to have Williams, of Tiger Illustrated, join us! #ClemsonFootball #DaboSwinney #CollegeFootball #CFB #ACC #ACCFootball #ClemsonTigers #GoTigers #TransferPortal #CFBRecruiting #CollegeFootballAnalysis #ClemsonKickoff We’re glad you found us! Check out our free newsletter at ClemsonKickoff.Substack.com for extra content that we don’t include in our episodes.

Hey there, college football fans – Our series about Clemson’s arc with Dabo Swinney as head coach kicks off today – and a fantastic interview with David Hale gets us started talking about the things Swinney did to turn the Tigers into a playoff dynasty. We also talk about how those positives helped Clemson football not just win two national championships, but become a six-year college football playoff stalwart during the four-team era. And of course we discuss the potential reasons for Clemson's lesser results since 2021, including a 7-6 mark in 2025 – yet still solid enough to win the ACC in 2025 and reach the playoff again. #DaboSwinney #CollegeFootball #ACC #TransferPortal #CFB #ClemsonTigers We’re glad you found us! Be sure to check back for Part 2 of this series in a few days.

Hey there college football fans – Clemson’s Saturday-night loss vs. Miami went from bad early to worse late in a 41-13 blowout that revealed the depth of several problems in the Tigers football program (at least when it comes to competing with elite teams). The Clemson offensive line struggled mightily against Miami’s top-tier defense, leading to problems for offensive coordinator Chad Morris as the running game couldn’t get going. Freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds managed to throw for 295 yards, but suffered six sacks as Matt Luke’s O-line was overmatched as inexperienced players struggled. The Tigers’ best successes came in a span of about 31 minutes roughly encompassing the second and third quarters, but the early 17-3 deficit was never overcome and some late problems took the score from 27-13 to the final score you see. We break down what broke down for Swinney’s Clemson team – as well as some areas that showed genuine promise for the second half of the season. #DaboSwinney #ClemsonFootball #CollegeFootball #ClemsonTigers #MiamiHurricanes #ACC #CFB We’re glad you found us! Be sure to get extra content (stuff we don't get to in the podcast) via our free newsletter at ClemsonKickoff.Substack.com too.

Hey, college football fans -- We're a little late posting this to the podcast apps, apologies -- Miami quarterback Darian Mensah looks to get his second straight win at Clemson, this time with speedster Malachi Toney as his primary target for a dangerous passing attack. He and the No. 4 Hurricanes face a Tigers defense that just blanketed a standout QB last week with a combination of solid coverage from the secondary and disruptive pressure from the D-line. Will Miami’s offense continue its explosive ways, or can Clemson bring another suffocating defensive performance? If the Tigers are to win, they’ll need plenty of the latter — plus its skill position players on offense including Bryant Wesco and Gideon Davidson, along with freshman QB Tait Reynolds, will need to forge an attack of their own. We break down the standout factors that shape Clemson’s outlook as an underdog to Miami.

Hey, college football fans -- Clemson got an inconvenient head start on CFB Week 4 but pulled out a 24-10 win in the wee small hours at Cal on Friday. The Tigers' need to prioritize the running game, a stated offseason goal by head coach Dabo Swinney in Chad Morris' first year back as offensive coordinator, was on full display as true freshman QB Tait Reynolds managed just 108 yards passing on erratic accuracy (and lost a fumble that served up a touchdown for Cal). The offensive line suffered a blow with an injury to LG Elyjah Thurmon, but Gavin Blanchard appeared to replace him quite capably. The Tigers defense, meanwhile, used tight coverage in the secondary and decent pressure up front to contain touted Cal QB Jaron Keawe-Sagapolutele, keeping the Bears offense out of the end zone. Clemson still showed some issues giving up chunk plays on the ground, however. We go into the details and take the smallest of glimpses ahead at the Miami game happening Saturday night in Death Valley. #GideonDavidson #TaitReynolds #ClemsonFootball #ACCFootball #DaboSwinney We're glad you found us! Be sure to get free bonus content when you get our newsletter at ClemsonKickoff.Substack.com, which also provides you with updates every time we drop a new episode of this podcast.

Hey, college football fans. Can Clemson build confidence from last week's second-half momentum and survive a road test against Cal QB Jaron Keawe-Sagapolutene on a short week? We’ve got our analysis of the keys required for the Tigers to secure a massive Friday night victory over the Golden Bears, diving deep into several of the things we want to see from Dabo Swinney’s team, as well as a few of the X's and O's we anticipate. Is there a blueprint to pressure “JKS” and give Clemson a chance to win a second straight ACC game? We analyze how the Tigers need to sustain their high-effort execution in our Week 4 analysis, and share our thoughts on whether last week’s dominant second-half in Death Valley can also feed a winning “ACC After Dark” night in Berkeley. #ClemsonFootball #CalFootball #ClemsonVsCal #ACCFootball #CollegeFootball #JKS We’re glad you found us!

Hey, college football fans – Dabo Swinney was ecstatic with his Clemson Tigers’ comeback Saturday for a 28-20 win over UNC in their ACC football season opener. True freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds overcame a troublesome start to the game and gave offensive coordinator Chad Morris what he needed to string scoring drives together and outplay the Tar Heels. Smash that play button for a breakdown of the evolution that lifted Clemson to its Week 3 win, recapping the offense’s improvements in this podcast episode and taking a tactical look at the defense’s high points (as well as the remaining issues that defensive coordinator Tom Allen must still resolve).

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