Where South Carolina, Clemson football rank in way-too-early Top 25 polls
The 2025 college football season officially ended Monday night with Indiana’s 27-21 win over Miami in the national championship game.
And although the season ended less than 24 hours ago, various national media outlets and fans alike are already looking ahead toward the 2026 season.
As such, “way-too-early” Top 25 rankings are making the rounds.
Clemson and South Carolina both had poor showings in 2025 but have found themselves on some of those way-too-early lists. The Gamecocks took a step back last season and finished 4-8 on the year with an 1-7 mark in SEC play. Meanwhile, the Tigers were 7-6 (4-4 in the ACC) and lost in the Pinstripe Bowl to Penn State.
The State looked at 10 way-too-early 2026 rankings from national media outlets. Of those, South Carolina is ranked in two of them, while Clemson is ranked once.
Here are the details:
Where is South Carolina ranked?
South Carolina landed on the way-too-early rankings from CBS Sports and Yahoo Sports.
The Gamecocks check in at No. 22 by Yahoo Sports.
“Is it a make-or-break season for Shane Beamer? Yes, the Gamecocks had a rough schedule in 2025, but the defense took a step back and the offensive line was rough,” Yahoo Sports’ Nick Bromberg wrote. “SC added NC State OL Jacarrius Peak in the transfer portal and QB LaNorris Sellers is back along with edge rusher Dylan Stewart.”
South Carolina is listed at No. 25 in CBS Sports’ rankings.
“LaNorris Sellers returning to South Carolina doesn’t quite have the same newsmaking impact as many of us believed it would have just a few months ago, but the Gamecocks should be happy they have potentially one of the more explosive quarterbacks in the SEC returning,” CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello wrote. “South Carolina’s schedule was historically difficult last season, and I never count out Shane Beamer when his back is against the wall.”
Clemson is ranked No. 25 in Bleacher Report’s way-too-early Top 25 rankings.
Clemson, South Carolina receive votes in other early polls
South Carolina and Clemson were both able to land a few honorable mention-type nods from a few separate outlets’ way-too-early rankings.
Both teams were listed as “The Next Tier” in Athlon’s rankings. South Carolina and Clemson also both received votes for On3’s rankings.
In the Sporting News’ rankings, Clemson was listed in the “six more teams to watch” section of the rankings. Granted, even that short list came after the teams who “just missed” the top 25.
Where South Carolina and Clemson miss the cut
There were a few outlets that left South Carolina and Clemson off their way-too-early rankings entirely.
Those outlets were ESPN, Fox Sports, The Athletic and Sports Illustrated.
That’s uncharted territory for Clemson and coach Dabo Swinney. The Tigers have been ranked in 14 straight AP preseason top 25 polls, a span that included seven College Football Playoff appearances and two national titles.
This story was originally published January 20, 2026 at 2:15 PM.
