Clemson
1-1Coaches #23ACC · Dabo Swinney, year 19 (188-54) · Memorial Stadium (Clemson, SC) · 81,500 · 81,150 avg in 2026
LastW 22–7 vs Georgia Southern · Sat Sep 12 · Will Heldt 2 sacks, 3 TFL, 3 tackles
Nextvs North Carolina · Sat Sep 19 · 12 pm ET · Memorial Stadium (Clemson, SC) · Clemson by 3.5 · series 40-18-1, won the last 7 · Game preview
Updated Tue Sep 15 · through week 2
All 90 stats
FBS rankings · 2026 season · all stats vs 136 FBS programs
| Player | # | G | Cmp/Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | INT | Rate | ZPR | QBR | Adj ANY/A | Sack% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +0.06 EPA/play | 2 | 2 | 20 / 33 | 60.6 | 200 | 6.1 | 0 | 0 | 111.5 | — | 11.3 | — | — | |
Yards by week → | ||||||||||||||
| -0.30 EPA/play | 17 | 2 | 14 / 23 | 60.9 | 102 | 4.4 | 1 | 2 | 95.1 | — | 35 | — | — | |
Yards by week → | ||||||||||||||
| Player | # | G | Car | Yds | Avg | TD | Long | Stuff% | 10+% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -0.05 EPA/play | 8 | 2 | 21 | 82 | 3.9 | 0 | 21 | — | — | |
Yards by week → | ||||||||||
| Player | # | G | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Long | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +0.60 EPA/play | 1 | 2 | 11 | 134 | 12.2 | 1 | 45 | |
Yards by week → | ||||||||
| +0.21 EPA/play | 12 | 2 | 8 | 64 | 8 | 0 | 22 | |
Yards by week → | ||||||||
| +0.98 EPA/play | 6 | 2 | 6 | 55 | 9.2 | 0 | 20 | |
Yards by week → | ||||||||
| Player | # | G | Tot | Solo | TFL | Sack | Hur |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 4 #9 FBS | 2 #26 FBS | 1 |
| Player | # | G | Tot | Solo | Ast | TFL | Sack | PD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coverage 'Backer | 47 | 2 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Coverage 'BackerCarries tight ends and patrols the middle of the field in coverage. National watch / fringe All-American — on the edge of a 1st-team nod. 21 of 84 LBs we've classified this way this season. Season receipt PD rate6.7% 84th percentile · FBS linebackers, min. 15 tackles Tackle volume15 bottom 14th percentile · FBS linebackers, min. 15 tackles Trait fingerprint Plays like View Sammy Brown's full player page | |||||||||
| 7 | 2 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Player | # | G | Tot | PD | INT | TFL | Sack |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centerfielder | 22 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
CenterfielderSingle-high range who erases the deep middle of the field. 11 of 46 Ss we've classified this way this season. Season receipt PD rate6.7% 67th percentile · FBS safeties, min. 15 tackles Plays like View Corey Myrick's full player page | |||||||
| Centerfielder | 6 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
CenterfielderSingle-high range who erases the deep middle of the field. 11 of 46 Ss we've classified this way this season. Season receipt PD rate6.7% 67th percentile · FBS safeties, min. 15 tackles Plays like View Jerome Carter's full player page | |||||||
| Cover Corner | 8 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cover CornerSteady in coverage; doesn't get beat deep and rarely gives up the big play. The most common profile in its group this season — 13 of 24 classified this way. Played in 2 of 3 games this season · junior · 4-star, 2024 class View Corian Gipson's full player page | |||||||
| 5 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Ball Hawk | 3 | 2 | 10 | 3 #10 FBS | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ball HawkReads the quarterback's eyes and takes the ball away. 3 of 24 CBs we've classified this way this season. Season receipt PD rate30.0% 99th percentile · FBS corners, min. 10 tackles Plays like View Elliot Washington II's full player page | |||||||
| Player | # | G | FG M/A | FG% | XP M/A | Pts | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 81 | 2 | 6/6 | 100 | 2/2 | 20 | 50 |
| Player | # | G | No | Yds | Avg | Long | In20 | TB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 89 | 2 | 17 | 682 | 40.1 | 47 | 7 | 0 |
Net average is unavailable — CFBD's punting feed carries gross yards only, with no return-yardage or touchback deduction.
| Player | # | G | No | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +0.21 EPA/play | 12 | 2 | 4 | 36 | 9 | 0 | 26 |
2026 stat leaders · Clemson
through 2 games
2026 stat leaders · ClemsonSammy Brown leads Clemson with 15 tackles through 2 games.
How They Play · 2025Clemson fields a capable pass-first offense behind a strong, gives up the big play defense.
Percentile vs all FBS, based on this season's per-game production. Bar = where this team ranks — right is better.
Clemson reads strongest in success rate allowed (top 20%) and passing epa allowed (top 29%); the crux lives in explosive plays allowed, where Clemson sits at the 12th percentile.
offense · strengths lead
defense · higher bar = harder to play against
hidden math · special situations
Home-field advantage · Clemson · 2018–present · FBS opponents
Clemson is worth +2.2 points more at home than on the road.
Bottom third of FBS, 20th percentile of 133 programs
83% at home, 74% away against FBS opponents since 2018 (39–8 home, 29–10 away). Interval ±4.4.
Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge — per-team modelling was tested and did not survive scrutiny (why) — and the books use about 3. Against the closing line, Clemson has beaten the number by −3.1 more at home than away over 73 games — inside the ±7.0 that many games can resolve. Results here cannot tell the flat number apart from the building, and that is the honest reading of nearly every FBS stadium.
Memorial Stadium (Clemson, SC) seats 81,500 and has averaged 99% full (80,516, 29 games reported). Visitors get here easily: a median 268 miles trip since 2018, the 21st-shortest of 135 FBS venues. There is no travel penalty on visitors here either way. 19% of the 2026 roster (23 of 119 located players) grew up inside 100 miles of the stadium.
Edge = half the gap between average home margin and average road margin, FBS opponents only, non-neutral games since 2018; the interval is 95%. Market line: closing spread, seasons with lines on file. Trip length is straight-line miles from the visiting team's campus to the venue, measured across all 55 home games since 2018.
More in this tab
Scheme claims
Standard downs vs. passing downs
Does Clemson hold up once the down-and-distance turns against them?
1st percentile success on standard downs, 19th on passing downs — a 18-point gap between the two.
View all FBS teams as a table
| Team | Standard-downs percentile | Passing-downs percentile |
|---|---|---|
| App State | 44th | 90th |
| Arizona | 92nd | 86th |
| Arkansas | 60th | 80th |
| Auburn | 75th | 55th |
| Ball State | 12th | 24th |
| Baylor | 40th | 96th |
| Boise State | 58th | 46th |
| Boston College | 27th | 56th |
| Buffalo | 7th | 14th |
| California | 9th | 25th |
| Central Michigan | 16th | 6th |
| Charlotte | 73rd | 83rd |
| Clemson | 1st | 19th |
| Coastal Carolina | 61st | 52nd |
| Colorado | 35th | 77th |
| Colorado State | 82nd | 91st |
| Delaware | 70th | 31st |
| Duke | 20th | 29th |
| Eastern Michigan | 52nd | 10th |
| Florida Atlantic | 43rd | 87th |
| Florida International | 46th | 43rd |
| Florida State | 28th | 65th |
| Georgia Southern | 24th | 45th |
| Georgia Tech | 58th | 44th |
| Hawai'i | 18th | 41st |
| Iowa State | 4th | 23rd |
| Jacksonville State | 65th | 82nd |
| Kansas | 70th | 35th |
| LSU | 33rd | 98th |
| Liberty | 14th | 59th |
| Louisiana | 19th | 92nd |
| Louisville | 96th | 70th |
| Memphis | 69th | 65th |
| Michigan | 2nd | 62nd |
| Michigan State | 62nd | 29th |
| Middle Tennessee | 87th | 68th |
| Missouri | 36th | 85th |
| Navy | 98th | 59th |
| Nevada | 77th | 52nd |
| New Mexico State | 45th | 75th |
| Norfolk State | 16th | 9th |
| North Dakota State | 86th | 27th |
| North Texas | 49th | 68th |
| Ohio | 38th | 17th |
| Ohio State | 90th | 40th |
| Oklahoma State | 41st | 49th |
| Ole Miss | 94th | 50th |
| Oregon | 35th | 33rd |
| Oregon State | 10th | 38th |
| Pittsburgh | 30th | 76th |
| Purdue | 83rd | 88th |
| Rutgers | 30th | 71st |
| Sacramento State | 23rd | 14th |
| Sam Houston | 78th | 61st |
| San Diego State | 4th | 40th |
| San José State | 54th | 22nd |
| South Alabama | 50th | 73rd |
| South Florida | 91st | 52nd |
| Stanford | 76th | 15th |
| Syracuse | 48th | 64th |
| TCU | 93rd | 8th |
| Tennessee | 65th | 78th |
| Texas | 72nd | 94th |
| Texas A&M | 85th | 72nd |
| Texas Tech | 88th | 48th |
| Troy | 22nd | 59th |
| Tulane | 31st | 2nd |
| Tulsa | 56th | 1st |
| UAB | 65th | 81st |
| UNLV | 51st | 7th |
| USC | 97th | 99th |
| UTSA | 99th | 29th |
| Utah State | 4th | 93rd |
| Vanderbilt | 80th | 12th |
| Wake Forest | 56th | 97th |
| Washington | 81st | 4th |
| Washington State | 8th | 3rd |
| Western Kentucky | 25th | 34th |
| Western Michigan | 39th | 20th |
| Wisconsin | 13th | 18th |
| Wyoming | 65th | 36th |
Tendency drift
Season by season
How Clemson’s current staff calls plays, year over year
Pass defense by zone
Pass-depth identity
What this team throws, and gives up, by depth.
On short throws (≤19 air yards), Clemson’s defense allows a completion rate below the FBS mean (64.6% vs 65.2% league-wide, shrunk toward the mean for its 71-play sample) — mid-pack, 6 of 18 qualifying defenses.
We won’t show a deep-ball (20+ air yards) leaderboard here, on either side of the ball: even a full season of charted plays gives most teams well under 30 deep attempts — too thin to tell a real tendency from noise, so we won’t guess. Same refusal for yards-after-catch allowed and where a team’s attempts land by zone: both measured and both came back statistically indistinguishable from season-to-season noise.
Ratings
Comparable teams
Most similar programs · Clemson
Most similar programs · ClemsonReads like
Matched on how the programs are built — tier, prestige band, kind of fanbase, conference, voice and roster size — not on this season's stats. A calibration, not a prediction.
Historical echo
Historical echo
Clemson’s slide has precedent — and 2 of the 4 closest kept falling.
Programs whose stature fell in the same shape. The grey line is their decline; the color is what came next for them.
An analogy on the shape of a program’s Zeitgeist stature arc — not a prediction. Interim calibration, medium confidence; matched among current FBS programs at a comparable level.
Conditions
70°F average kickoff temp; 11% of games had measurable precipitation; 5 mph average wind.
Based on 84 home games with weather data.