From ‘most overrated team’ to ACC champion, CBS Sports analysts divided on Clemson

CBS Sports’ panel of college football analysts are pretty split on the Clemson Tigers entering the 2024 college football season.

The Tigers were labeled everything from the ACC’s “most overrated team” to being three other panelists’ pick to win the conference in CBS Sports’ ACC “expert picks, predictions and projected finishes,” released Monday.

On the former front, analysts Shehan Jeyarajah, Dennis Dodd and Jerry Palm have the Tigers as the league’s most overrated team.

Jeyarajah writes:

“The Tigers made the drop from underwhelming to legitimately mediocre one season ago, ultimately losing three games to unranked opponents and finishing 4-4 in conference play for the first time since 2010. The Tigers are still one of the most talented teams in the league, but how much production can Clemson lose and still maintain? The defense typically replaces well, but the Tigers lost five starters to the NFL Draft and safety Andrew Mukuba to the transfer portal. The offense was a mess last year and will have to move forward without RB Will Shipley and WR Beaux Collins. If this team didn’t don the orange and purple, no one would confuse them for an ACC title contender.”

Conversely, three CBS Sports analysts picked Clemson to win the ACC: Tom Fornelli, Chip Patterson and Will Backus.

Patterson writes:

“The Tigers threw a lot of young players into the fire last season, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that they started a little slow and finished strong with a 5-0 run to close out the year. Now, those young Tigers are prepped to be stars in 2024, and Cade Klubnik should be improved in Year 2 with Garrett Riley and the additional leadership of Tajh Boyd on the coaching staff as assistant quarterbacks coach. This was a program that won 10-plus games for 12 straight season, and now many are selling stock because of a 9-4 showing last year. But with better injury luck and more experience at key positions, I’m expecting a return to the top for the Tigers.”

Among the eight analysts, three others picked Miami to win the ACC. Somewhat surprisingly, only two (Dodd and Palm) favored reigning ACC champion Florida State to repeat in 2024.

Clemson opens the season Aug. 31 against Georgia (noon ET, ABC) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Tigers are ranked No. 14 in both the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 poll ; Georgia is ranked No. 1 in both polls.

No. 10 Florida State will face Georgia Tech in the season opener for both teams Saturday at noon ET in Dublin, Ireland. The game can be seen on ESPN.

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