Sloane Thompson
After starting 1-2 in the 2025 season, Clemson looks to bounce back against Syracuse this Saturday.
The 2025 season hasn’t gone according to plan for Clemson football. After opening the year as a top-five team, the Tigers now find themselves unranked with a 1-2 record heading into Week 4.
Slow starts have plagued the Tigers, 1-2, 0-1 ACC, through the first three weeks, raising questions about whether this group can recapture the form that carried them to last year’s College Football Playoff.
With their backs against the wall, the Tigers now face a pivotal test against the Orange. If Clemson wants to shift the narrative, it must prove it can do these three things.
Establish red-zone efficiency
Clemson’s offense has struggled out of the gate, and its inconsistency has been impossible to ignore in the red zone. The Tigers must prove they can turn drives into touchdowns instead of settling for field goals.
Through eight red-zone trips this season, Clemson has managed just four offensive touchdowns, all on the ground. Remarkably, the Tigers are one of only 17 teams in college football without a single passing touchdown in the red zone, highlighting a glaring weakness in finishing drives.
The numbers tell the story: Clemson ranks No. 109 nationally in total offense — No. 120 in rushing and No. 81 in passing — while converting just 40.5% of third downs, frequently derailing drives and leaving the offense stagnant.
On top of that, the heavy reliance on converted receiver-turner running back Adam Randall telegraphs Clemson’s passing game; when he comes off the field, defenses know a pass is coming.
To turn this around, offensive coordinator Garrett Riley must prove he can mix the run and pass effectively and keep the defense on their toes.
Defensive discipline
Syracuse has one of the most lethal passing attacks in the nation, averaging 357 passing yards per game through the air behind Steve Angeli’s league-leading 1,072 passing yards.
The Orange’s passing game is explosive, so Clemson’s defensive backs must stay disciplined in coverage, avoiding blown coverages and limiting big plays.
The Tigers’ secondary has struggled this season with technique and preventing explosive plays, allowing an average of over 220 passing yards per game and often getting caught out of position or beaten over the top, especially on third downs. Effective communication in the secondary will be crucial, and the defense could get a boost if veteran Khalil Barnes returns after missing the past two games with a hamstring injury.
A strong pass defense will also depend on the Tigers’ defensive line, which has yet to assert itself fully through the first three games. Fortunately for Clemson, Syracuse enters the matchup with a bottom-12 rushing offense and an offensive line that allows three sacks per game, providing an opportunity for the defensive front to dominate.
If Clemson’s defensive line can dominate the trenches and collapse the pocket, it will throw Angeli off his timing and give the secondary much-needed breathing room.
Klubnik must rise to the moment
After a breakout 2024 season in which he ranked No. 10 nationally in passing yards and No. 3 in touchdowns, quarterback Cade Klubnik entered 2025 as a Heisman candidate and the centerpiece of Clemson’s high-powered offense.
Expectations were sky-high, but the season has started sluggishly; missed reads, turnovers and inefficiencies have left the Tigers’ offense sputtering and struggling to sustain drives.
Klubnik has completed just 59% of his passes for 633 yards and three touchdowns through the first three games of the year. He’s thrown at least one interception in each game and fumbled last week against Georgia Tech, reflecting his concerning 43.8 QBR, leaving him ranked No. 101 nationally among qualifying quarterbacks.
Against Syracuse this week, Klubnik must rediscover the poise and precision that made him one of the nation’s elite quarterbacks, confidently taking command of the offense and making each play count while minimizing costly mistakes.