Dabo Swinney, Clemson plummet to new lows as upset loss to Syracuse continues disaster start to season

It didn't take long for the wheels to fall off of Clemson's 2025 season. The Tigers entered the year with high hopes and an equally high No. 4 ranking in the AP Top 25 poll, marking them as serious contenders for a national title -- on paper, at least. 

But a third of the way through actual games Clemson looks like a team that will have to battle for bowl eligibility all year long. The Tigers' record dropped to 1-3 with Saturday afternoon's 34-21 home loss to Syracuse. 

Clemson fell behind 24-7 with over nine minutes left in the second quarter and never got close to battling back. The Tigers had a couple of opportunities to cut the margin late in the fourth, but quarterback Cade Klubnik tossed one interception on an ill-fated fourth-and-10 conversion attempt and then sailed one past any wide receiver on a later fourth-and-5 attempt. 

Klubnik's incompletion allowed Syracuse to bleed the clock on one of the Orange's biggest wins in recent memory. Syracuse improved to 2-10 against Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, and the Orange did it without starting quarterback Steve Angeli for a majority of the second half. 

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Clemson actually outgained Syracuse, 503-433, but the Tigers were just 3-of-13 on third downs and 1-of-5 on fourth downs. Klubnik, a preseason Heisman Trophy contender, averaged just over six yards per attempt and tossed that back-breaking interception against a Syracuse secondary that ranks third-worst in the ACC in pass defense. 

The result, in a vacuum, is inexcusable for a Clemson team that boasts one of college football's most experienced rosters, laden with potential NFL Draft picks -- especially on the defensive side of the ball. A deeper dive into the numbers reveals how truly disastrous this loss is for Swinney: 

• This is the first time that Clemson has started 1-3 under Swinney. 
• This is Clemson's largest home loss since 2013 and its largest home loss versus an AP-unranked team under Swinney. 
• Clemson has now lost four straight home games against power conference opponents. 
• This is the first time that Clemson has lost three regular-season home games in a four-game span since 2002-03. 
• Clemson is the first AP preseason top-4 team to start 1-3 since Florida State in 2017, and just the second since 2000. 
• Over the last 15 seasons, Clemson was 88-5 in its first 93 games at home and 2-4 since. 

Clemson was also a 17.5-point favorite against the Orange. The Tigers were 30-0 in their last 30 games as 17-plus point favorites. 

To make matters worse, Swinney's squad is already 0-2 in ACC play. Clemson has lost more than two conference games just once since 2015. It still has to play No. 7 Florida State and has a tough road trip to Louisville on the schedule, as well as home games against preseason top-25 team SMU.

Clemson returned to the College Football Playoff last season because it won in the ACC Championship Game. The Tigers may need a miracle to get anywhere near Charlotte this year.