Former Super Bowl Champion Names Historic College Football Team Set to Go Undefeated

The Clemson Tigers football program has 40 bowl game appearances, 21 bowl game victories, 24 conference titles and three national championships to its name, including winning crowns in 2016 and 2018 under head coach Dabo Swinney.

Swinney has been the head coach at Clemson since 2008 and brings a 180-47 record into the 2025 season. In 2024, Clemson finished 10-4 and snuck into the College Football Playoff field as the No. 12 seed before losing to No. 5 Texas, 38-24, in the first round.

This year, there is plenty of hype and buzz around the Clemson program, especially with quarterback Cade Klubnik back and in the Heisman Trophy conversation and discussion for a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Some analysts are high on Clemson, including one former Super Bowl champion who was on the Green Bay Packers in their Super Bowl XXXI win over the New England Patriots.

CBS Sports Analyst Has High Hopes for Clemson

During the CBS Sports College Football show, former guard Aaron Taylor revealed his national title prediction.

"Clemson's a team that's built just like they were in 2016 and 2018; I think they advance," Taylor said. "I got Clemson winning. I just think Dabo, with his ability to adjust and adapt and go in the portal and get some free agent pieces, has a team that goes undefeated and runs the table."

Taylor also revealed his entire 12-team College Football Playoff bracket, and it looked like this:

• No. 1 seed: Clemson Tigers
• No. 2 seed: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
• No. 3 seed: Georgia Bulldogs
• No. 4 seed: Penn State Nittany Lions
• No. 5 seed: Ohio State Buckeyes
• No. 6 seed: Alabama Crimson Tide
• No. 7 seed: LSU Tigers
• No. 8 seed: Texas Longhorns
• No. 9 seed: Oregon Ducks
• No. 10 seed: Boise State Broncos
• No. 11 seed: SMU Mustangs
• No. 12 seed: Utah Utes

There are some surprising picks, especially with all of SMU, Boise State and Utah making the cut.

However, Taylor's rolling with Clemson to not just win the title, but also to go undefeated in the process. As Taylor also noted, Swinney went into the portal this time, something that he has done very rarely in the past.

In this past cycle, Clemson landed the following players in the transfer portal:

• OL Hayes Galloway from North Carolina
• LB Jeremiah Alexander from Alabama
• Edge Will Heldt from Purdue
• WR Tristan Smith from Southeast Missouri State

In the previous three years, Clemson had landed just two players total in the portal, so this is quite the change of philosophy for Swinney.

And, Taylor took notice, even rolling with Clemson to not just win the title, but also go undefeated.

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