Kirk Herbstreit praises Clemson Tigers for strong turnaround after poor start

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ESPN broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit had some praise for a once-struggling program that has bounced back. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect The college football season is more like a marathon than a sprint, a fact that's become even more profoundly true in the era of a growing College Football Playoff.

Kirk Herbstreit is aware of that situation, and it's why one team that everyone was condemning after aHerbstreit threw out some massive credit to an early disappointment that has turned around the 2026 season. Acknowledging that a brutal Week 1 loss to LSU left "everyone mock and laugh at" the Clemson Tigers, Herbstreit gave Dabo Swinney's squad credit for an impressive three-game winning streak that turned around the season.

"Since then, they've gone back to work," said Herbstreit. "They found a way to beat North Carolina after that lightning delay. They went out to Cal, which is never easy to do, travel across the country, won that football game.

"The Tigers fell to LSU's Tigers 51-10 to open the season. After an ugly 22-7 win over Georgia Southern, Clemson bested North Carolina 28-20 and California 24-10. That said, even with three wins, Clemson gets a massive challenge in Week 5 by hosting No. 4 Miami. Clemson's pass defense is one area where the Tigers have shown quick improvement.

After giving up 9.3 yards per pass and two touchdowns in week one, since then Clemson hasn't allowed more than 5.3 yards per pass to any subsequent opponent with a total of two touchdowns to three interceptions over the past three games. Dabo Swinney seems to have Clemson heading back on the winning track after a brutal Week 1of 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect Dabo Swinney's team may have weathered a significant challenge to their venerable coach.

Herbstreit's comments mentioned the widely held belief that the game had passed Swinney by. Indeed, after seasons of dominance, Swinney has had an adjustment period with the increasing emphasis on the transfer portal, not a favored part of the modern college football environment for Clemson's coach.

Off a 7-6 season a year ago that was the worst Swinney had endured since 2010, when Swinney was in his second full season at Clemson's coach, the Tigers have a good opportunity to bounce back. The Hurricanes are currently the only remaining ranked team on Clemson's regular-season schedule, with a Duke team that heads into week 5 at 4-0 the best opportunity for the conference to add to that ranking situation.

In any case, after a disastrous Week 1, Swinney and Clemson's rebound drew Herbstreit's attention. In Week 5, it could add the nation's attention. Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendationsJoe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports.

He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.

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Clemson Tigers Kirk Herbstreit Dabo Swinney College Football Turnaround

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