Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers capped a frustrating 2025 season with a 22-10 Pinstripe Bowl loss to Penn State, their worst record since the 2010 campaign’s 6-7 finish.
After the defeat, Clemson faces a crucial juncture. With the transfer portal opening Jan. 2, Swinney is determined to pursue impactful transfers for the first time to revive the program next season.
Dabo Swinney Mulls Making Transfer Portal Splash
Midway through the 2025 college football season, Swinney addressed the newly set transfer portal date, noting it positions Clemson better to target offseason players.
After the loss to Penn State, Clemson beat reporter Chapel Fowler reported on what the veteran tactician is expected to do beginning Jan. 2, the date the transfer portal opens.
“The (transfer) portal opens on Jan. 2, so we’ll have some recruiting to do there,” Fowler quoted Swinney as saying.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, recapping the next few weeks ahead, mentions: “The (transfer) portal opens on January 2, so we’ll have some recruiting to do there”
— Chapel Fowler (@chapelfowler) December 27, 2025
While the Clemson coach still believes additional changes are needed, he acknowledged this adjustment is an improvement. The timeline allows the team to first focus on its current phase, then evaluate the roster and address needs as the portal opens, streamlining the transition from one stage to the next.
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Clemson signed only 20 high school prospects, including Naeem Burroughs, Kentavion Anderson, and Chancellor Barclay, for the Class of 2026. That means Swinney and his staff must now address key roster gaps to restore the Tigers’ form next season.
The coordinators are set to face offseason scrutiny, as both the offense and defense need improvement. The Tigers, averaging 28.7 points, managed just 10 against Penn State, falling short despite coordinator Garrett Riley’s experience.
Riley’s scheme left Cade Klubnik, once a preseason Heisman hopeful, struggling. Klubnik completed 22 of 39 passes for 193 yards and suffered a fourth-down sack, ending a disappointing year at quarterback.
Overall, Clemson totaled 236 yards against Penn State, gaining only 3.6 yards per play. The Tigers were forced to punt five times, turned it over on downs twice, and missed a field goal across 10 possessions.
The defense also faltered in the cold at Yankee Stadium, with coverage busts in the secondary fueling a decisive 16-7 fourth-quarter surge by Penn State. The game’s key play was a 73-yard Trebor Pena touchdown, with Clemson’s defensive backs losing coverage despite time to mount a comeback.
The defensive unit allowed 397 total yards, 262 through the air, with the remainder coming on the ground.
“Just banging into each other, knocking each other off,” Swinney said. “Just hard watch.”
The veteran coach summed up the season with regrets over how close the Tigers were in several games, but he said he will use those losses as motivation for the coming season, a rare position for a program like Clemson.
“I know how close we are. It’s one more catch, it’s one more good throw. It’s a better call. It’s one stop. And next thing you know, you win a couple of those games that we lost early (in 2025), and now you’ve got confidence and momentum,” he said. “We just never got that, and it certainly affected us.”
Now, as Clemson turns the page on a disappointing season, Swinney faces one of the greatest challenges of his career. How the Tigers respond this offseason will determine whether they return to dominance or face an unfamiliar reality next year.
