David Pollack believes runner-up to Clemson is the biggest question in the ACC for 2025

The Clemson Tigers are going into the 2025 season with some massive expectations on their shoulders. Once again, Clemson is seen as a heavy favorite to win the ACC. So much so that some experts are more interested in what team could end up in second place this season.

Analyst David Pollack was previewing the ACC on his show See Ball Get Ball. There, he dismissed the idea that any other team could be the conference champion. Instead, he pointed out that there are plenty of competitive teams just behind them.

“What’s crazier, to me, this is what’s really nuts about this league,” David Pollack said. “When you start to pick, so obviously, we’re gonna tell you we’re picking Clemson. I can guarantee you Brent’s gonna pick Clemson. I’m gonna pick Clemson. If you don’t, you’re probably crazy. But the bigger question about this league is who the heck do you pick next?”

The Clemson Tigers have won the ACC nine times since 2011. That includes eight of the last 10 seasons, though, they have admittedly only won it twice in the last four seasons. Notably, however, the Tigers have also consistently taken on new teams in the ACC Championship Game, with seven different opponents in their ACC Championship Games.

“Because I think it’s a roulette game,” Pollack said. “And for years on TV with Rece Davis, we always did the wheel of destiny in the SEC. So, how about this? In ’24, Clemson beat SMU. In ’22, Clemson beat UNC. FSU won, obviously… in ’23. So, the years Clemson won. In ’20, they beat Notre Dame for the Covid year, which was weird. 2019, they beat Virginia. 2018, they beat Pitt. 2017, they beat the U, Miami. 2011, they beat Virginia Tech. Dude, that’s crazy. Seven of those eight wins are against different teams. The only repeat one was UNC. So, it’s just been a lot of others, and then a lot of Clemson has played really, really well.”

Ultimately, it goes to show how much parity just behind Clemson there has been in the ACC over the years. A year removed from the ACC getting two teams in the College Football Playoff, however, there is clear evidence that the battle for second place in the ACC, assuming the Tigers do roll to another conference championship, is going to matter for the postseason too.

Dabo Swinney predicted as ACC Coach of the Year by David Pollack

One thing that is clear going into 2025, David Pollack is incredibly high on Clemson. He’s even predicting that head coach Dabo Swinney is going to become the ACC Coach of the Year next season.

“It’s Dabo Swinney. I’d love to find other names and other guys, and I really want to be like, I want to give everybody love, (but I can’t),” Pollack said.

“Dabo has only won it like, in the last, you know, whatever, seven, eight years, like, he hasn’t won it since ‘18. It’s crazy that they found ways not to give it to him. Obviously, they gave it to him a bunch, you know, before that.”