Party crashers? Clemson listed among 10 CFP dark-horse teams in 2026

College football changes fast, particularly when it comes to the postseason. The Clemson Tigers are a great example. Three years ago, Dabo Swinney's team went into the 2023 season with a No. 9 ranking in the polls and was picked by ACC media members to win the conference for the eighth time in nine

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What is the story about?

College football changes fast, particularly when it comes to the postseason.

The Clemson Tigers are a great example. Three years ago, Dabo Swinney's team went into the 2023 season with a No. 9 ranking in the polls and was picked by ACC media members to win the conference for the eighth time in nine years.

Instead, Clemson limped to a 4-4 start and Swinney found himself in the headlines for a different reason: going off on a caller on his weekly radio call-in show.

A year later, Florida State was the overwhelming favorite to win the ACC after going 13-0 and winning the league championship. The 2024 Seminoles were a bust and won two games. It was the Tigers and first-year conference member SMU who made that year's expanded College Football Playoff.

And just last year, Clemson had a preseason No. 4 ranking, a seemingly favorable schedule, and what appeared to be a roster talented enough to contend for the program's first national championship in seven years. By late September, the Tigers were mired in a 1-3 start, their playoff hopes reduced to ashes before a fuse was even really lit.

While Clemson didn't bottom out nearly as much as Florida State the previous year (they won four straight games to finish 7-5 in the regular season), few people are picking the Tigers for a return to the College Football Playoff so soon after Swinney's worst season since 2010.

For USA TODAY Sports, that makes Clemson an ideal dark-horse pick for its list of 10 teams that could crash the playoff party in 2026.

Longtime college football voice Paul Myerberg said of the Tigers:

"That Clemson qualifies as an ACC dark horse behind Miami, No. 20 SMU and maybe even unranked Louisville, speaks to the program’s steady drop from the ranks of the Power Four’s most consistently powerful programs. Yet despite the uncertainty around this year’s team, the Tigers remain very talented, with solid depth and a potential spark at offensive coordinator in familiar face Chad Morris, leaving the biggest question mark whether quarterback Christopher Vizzina is ready for the starting job."

The ACC has been the most unpredictable of any Power Four conference, and for a while. Neither 2023 Clemson, 2024 Florida State or 2025 Clemson were playoff or ACC championship caliber teams, despite their preseason rankings and accolades.

The Miami Hurricanes, this year's overwhelming pick to win the ACC title, suffering a similar fate as those teams in 2026 seems doubtful, but no one ever knows until the season starts or the heart of the schedule arrives.

Speaking of which, Clemson opens its season Sept. 5 against LSU at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge. Clemson is ranked No. 23 in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll; LSU is ranked 13th.

How much pressure is Clemson football under entering the 2026 season?

📸 Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network , USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co https://t.co/uIhmRRu2yr pic.twitter.com/usLhXPTEuP
— Clemson Wire (@Clemson_Wire) August 11, 2026