{"id":188435,"date":"2025-07-07T14:07:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T14:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/188435\/"},"modified":"2025-07-07T14:07:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T14:07:10","slug":"why-clemson-is-a-national-title-contender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/188435\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Clemson is a national title contender"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\tGambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our links. Read our editorial standards<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n

Every summer, there is a group of college football<\/a> teams that become hype machines. <\/p>\n

Whether it be due to a new coaching hire, a strong finish to the previous season, or because of the transfer portal, there\u2019s always a handful of programs that become trendy, and that love seeps into the betting market.<\/p>\n

Last summer, Florida State and Utah had their bandwagons full by Week 1, only to go a combined 7-17, with the Seminoles footing the table in the ACC.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Other trendy teams from last summer, like Texas, SMU, and Tennessee, fared much better, but the point is that just because a program becomes a popular pick in the offseason doesn\u2019t guarantee that it will make good on that promise when school is back in session.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve identified a few teams that have become trendy this summer and will discuss whether or not they will live up to the hype in the fall.<\/p>\n

Florida quarterback DJ Lagway during the annual Spring Game. Getty Images for ONIT<\/p>\n

2025 College Football predictions<\/p>\n

Florida Gators<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a while since Florida has been relevant. The Gators haven\u2019t won an SEC Championship since 2008, and they\u2019ve gone 25-26 in the last four seasons.<\/p>\n

Pressure was starting to build up on head coach Billy Napier before the 2024 campaign, but he was able to save his bacon with a strong finish en route to an 8-5 campaign against a brutal schedule.<\/p>\n

Not only did Florida\u2019s four-game winning streak to close out 2024 likely save Napier\u2019s job, but it also turned some heads and put the Gators on the radar for 2025.<\/p>\n

A huge part of Florida\u2019s turnaround in 2024 was the play of quarterback DJ Lagway, who is getting considerable Heisman hype heading into his sophomore season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lagway gives the Gators a high ceiling, but the problem is that, once again, Florida is going to go up against one of the toughest schedules in the nation.<\/p>\n

According to ESPN\u2019s Bill Connelly<\/a>, only Oklahoma will face a more daunting path than the Gators in 2025.<\/p>\n

There are some positive signs in the Swamp, but Florida\u2019s schedule makes it really hard to get caught up in the hype surrounding the Gators for 2025.<\/p>\n

The Verdict: Pass<\/p>\n

Clemson Tigers<\/p>\n

Dabo Swinney and Clemson re-emerged with a trip to the College Football Playoff in 2024, and all signs point to another step forward in 2025.<\/p>\n

The Tigers are 11\/1 to win the National Championship at FanDuel Sportsbook<\/a>, and they are the clear favorites to win the ACC.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Clemson\u2019s Cade Klubnik is one of the favorites to win the 2025 Heisman Trophy. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Those may seem like steep prices to pay on the Tigers, but there\u2019s reason to believe that Clemson is going to be a force to be reckoned with in 2025.<\/p>\n

The biggest positive for the Tigers is that they lead the country in returning production at 81 percent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For a program that\u2019s been hesitant to dip into the portal, it\u2019s a huge positive that Clemson is bringing back so many snaps from 2024.<\/p>\n

In addition to the stability, the Tigers will also go up against a manageable schedule in the ACC this season.<\/p>\n

The Tigers are already getting plenty of love in the betting market, but it\u2019s warranted. Watch out for Cade Klubnik and Clemson in 2025.<\/p>\n

Verdict: National Title Contender<\/p>\n

Bret Bielema, Illinois Fighting Illini head coach, on the sidelines. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Betting on College Football? <\/p>\n

Illinois Fighting Illini<\/p>\n

Everybody is wondering who will be this year\u2019s Arizona State or Indiana, and Illinois is going to be a popular answer to that question.<\/p>\n

The Illini went 10-3 in 2024 and wrapped up the season by defeating South Carolina in the Citrus Bowl.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That may be a sign of things to come for the Illini, who rank third in returning production, have a stud quarterback in Luke Altmyer, and will play as easy a schedule as you could hope for in the Big Ten in 2025.<\/p>\n

Illinois won\u2019t have the talent to go up against the heavyweights in the Playoff, but they have legitimate hopes of making it to the Big Ten Championship, making the 40\/1 (BetMGM Sportsbook<\/a>) on the Illini to win the conference quite tempting.<\/p>\n

Verdict: Big Ten Dark Horse<\/p>\n

Why Trust New York Post Betting<\/p>\n

Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":188436,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[1107,843,331,41015,1301,7,4728,9,5433],"class_list":{"0":"post-188435","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-betting","9":"tag-clemson-tigers","10":"tag-college-football","11":"tag-college-football-betting","12":"tag-florida-gators","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-illinois-fighting-illini","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-sports-betting"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114812344834689756","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/188436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}