Clemson enters this season as a national title favorite in college football, coming in officially as the No. 4 team in the country per the Preseason AP Poll. However, Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica thinks a lot of assumptions are being made about the Tigers based on how they finished last fall. Fallica confirmed his concerns […]
Clemson enters this season as a national title favorite in college football, coming in officially as the No. 4 team in the country per the Preseason AP Poll. However, Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica thinks a lot of assumptions are being made about the Tigers based on how they finished last fall.
Fallica confirmed his concerns about Clemson while on ‘See Ball Get Ball’ with David Pollack on Monday. That’s as he just thinks the level of preseason hype they’re getting is unwarranted for the Tigers.
“I am (not with the Clemson love),” said Fallica. “I think the love is a little bit unjustified as to where we are.”
Fallica based this opinion on the margins in which Clemson got to 10-4 overall in 2024, in winning the ACC Championship and making their return to the College Football Playoff. He noted that the Tigers wouldn’t even have been in Charlotte, and, therefore, have earned a playoff spot at all, had Miami not lost twice in the final three weeks after opening undefeated at 9-0. That’s before getting into the bookend losses in a blowout to Georgia and their rivalry against South Carolina, being down as much as 19 in a loss at home during league play versus Louisville, avoiding fourth-quarter disasters in a late four-point win at Pittsburgh and with a game-winning field goal in the conference title game against SMU, and then the two-score loss in the playoff at Texas. Again, to Fallica, those are very close margins between being 10-4 overall like they were and being 8-4 overall with nothing to show for it from the ACC or in the CFP.
“Like, they weren’t even thought of as being a playoff team last year until Miami blew a 21-point lead up at Syracuse last year,” said Fallica. “You look at what they did last year? You got blown out by an SEC team in the opener. Now, it helps that (the opener) is in Clemson this year against LSU. (But) you lost at home to South Carolina. You got dominated by Louisville on your home field. You stole a game at Pitt that you had absolutely no business winning. Like, they were that close to being kind of, like, 8-4 last year and not even in the ACC title game.”
“I just think they’re being built up a little bit based on, kind of, stumbling into an ACC title, that they nearly weren’t in, and then they played Texas a lot closer in the College Football Playoff than I think people thought,” said Fallica.
Now, in 2025, Fallica sees just as many possible losses with games, among others, against LSU, at Georgia Tech, at Boston College, SMU, at Louisville, and at South Carolina. That’s a lot of ‘maybes’ to him for a team that’s the heavy favorite in the Atlantic Coast Conference and is expected to do far more than just be in the College Football Playoff.
“And, oh, by the way, this year, you got to go to Louisville, you got to go to South Carolina – even though I don’t necessarily think South Carolina is a great team. I think BC is going to be better. You’ve got SMU still on that schedule. Georgia Tech is always a pain in the you know what to play,” Fallica read off. “There are a lot of losable games there for Clemson.”
“Look, could they absolutely be the team that rips through the ACC?” admitted Fallica. “Maybe they’ll beat LSU by two touchdowns in the opener. Maybe they’ll go to Louisville and win. Maybe they’ll go to South Carolina and win. Maybe they’ll go to Georgia Tech and win. Maybe they’ll blow SMU out at home.”
This has all been just based on the schedules from last season and for this season to this point. Fallica then also had questions for the actual team, including the run game, in having to replace RB Phil Mafah, and the turnover margin, with the Tigers benefiting from the third-best one in the nation last fall at +16.
“I know (Cade) Klubnik and the wide receivers are back, but we’re assuming the freshman is going to be great,” noted Fallica
“SMU kind of handed them 14 points in the ACC title game last year because of turnovers and, like, that was the story of their season,” Fallica later added. “Their ability to kind of create turnovers and score points off of them, Klubnik didn’t turn the ball over.”
There are still plenty of reasons to buy into Clemson as a contender, obviously in their conference as well as nationally, for this season. Still, at least when it comes to them being one of the very best teams in the country, Fallica is selling some of that with the Tigers.
“I’m buyer beware, I think, with Clemson this year,” stated Fallica. “I think they’re really good, but I don’t think they are like, Preseason No. 1, Preseason No. 2 good like a lot of people think they are.”
Category: General Sports
