What time is Clemson kickoff?

All right college sports fans, this one’s for those of you who follow Clemson football closely: We want to know during this bye week if you think Dabo Swinney’s culture has become broken.

There’s a lot of message board talk and social media buzz, not all of it, but I’m seeing more and more fans and alumni saying that they want a completely fresh start for the Clemson football program. Wipe the slate clean. Some of them even say Swinney should go. Most don’t believe that, but there's seemingly been at least a dozen posts to that effect.

So: Tell us what you think. We’ve got a poll up on Twitter, it's embedded above or you can go to our page directly at X.com/ClemsonKickoff. What we want to know first is a "Yes" or "No" to tell us if you think the Tigers’ famed culture is broken. Clemson sits at 3-4 in its second bye week of the season, and sits below .500 in ACC play at 2-3. Look, it’s possible to have a bad season without a broken culture, which is why we want to know first and foremost, simply put, do you think the culture under head coach Dabo Swinney and his staff is broken? Or is the culture good?

We had a good exchange on Twitter with a fan who said the question opens up thoughts about different aspects, and his observations were really good. And, hey, it's a matter of each individual fan's line in the sand between a broken culture or a healthy one, and their gut reaction to that. So here's another way to look at the question: Clemson's culture once was lauded as being a key factor in winning national championships and making six straight four-team playoffs. Does its culture today get in the way of winning?

Second, for those of you who think about it and answer "Yes," because you think Clemson's culture has become broken, tell us your thoughts of what needs to change, to fix it. What repairs does it need? Give us your thoughts on that, so that’s X.com/ClemsonKickoff to take our Twitter poll and to reply with a comment about the changes you see fit. We've embedded the original question above to make that easy for you. We always want to know your thoughts and we have gotten some great comments on YouTube lately in Season 4 of our Reign Supreme Alway podcast, so be sure to check those out sometime as well. During this bye week, be sure that you get over to Twitter to have a shot at in this poll about the Clemson football culture. 

Clemson football's 2025 homecoming game Nov. 1 against Duke will kick off at noon, the ACC announced Monday morning.

TV viewers can find the game on the ACC Network.

Clemson enters the game at 3-4 (2-3 ACC) with questions about the health of its starting quarterback, Cade Klubnik. He missed Saturday's game against SMU and Christopher Vizzina started in his place.

The Tigers have lost five straight home games to Power Four competition, meaning schools from the ACC, SEC, Big Ten or Big 12. Three of their next four games are at home, including Duke as the homecoming opponent and Florida State the following week. Clemson is off this week.

Duke enters the game at 4-3 (3-1), having just lost to Georgia Tech. Starting quarterback Darien Mensah, a transfer portal acquisition, has averaged more than 300 yards per game with 17 touchdowns against two interceptions.

Clemson football's homecoming game in 2025 takes place Nov. 1 against Duke, the athletics department announced in June amid other designations for the Tigers' home games this season.

The Blue Devils finished 9-4 last season under Manny Diaz, going 5-3 in ACC play. Under previous coach Mike Elko, Duke upset Clemson in the 2023 season opener 28-7 -- the Tigers turned the ball over three times against a talented Blue Devils team that saw injuries (including one to starting quarterback Riley Leonard) undo its promise for the rest of the season.

[UPDATE: The game kicks off at noon, the ACC announced Oct. 20.]

A foursome of Power Four opponents who had nine or more wins last season will play at Clemson -- LSU, Syracuse, SMU and South Carolina -- a distinction only one other program can make. 

Other ACC home games for Clemson in 2025 and their designations:

• Sept. 20, Syracuse: Family Weekend.
  The Orange went 10-3 last season, 5-3 in the ACC. Clemson beat Syracuse 31-14 in 2023.
• Oct. 18, SMU: Breast Cancer Awareness Day.
  The Mustangs went 11-3 last season, 8-0 in the ACC regular season, and reached the College Football Playoff. Clemson beat SMU 34-31 in last year's ACC Championship Game.
• Nov. 8, Florida State: Hall of Fame Day, Extra Yard for Teachers.
  The Seminoles went 2-10 last season (maybe you've heard!), 1-7 in the ACC. Clemson beat FSU 29-13 last year.

Kickoff times have been announced for two non-conference home games for Clemson in 2025:

• Aug. 30, LSU (season opener, 7:30 p.m., ABC): IPTAY Day, Land Grant Day.
  LSU went 9-4 last season, 5-4 in the SEC. LSU beat Clemson 42-25 in the 2019 season's national championship game.
• Sept. 6, Troy (3:30 p.m., ACC Network): Football Reunion, P.A.W. Journey Day.
  The Trojans went 4-8 last season, 3-5 in the Sun Belt Conference. Clemson beat Troy 30-24 in 2016.
• Nov. 22, Furman: Military Appreciation, Senior Day.
  The Paladins went 3-8 last season, 2-5 in the Southern Conference. Clemson beat Furman 35-12 in 2022.

The designations are observed by the Clemson Athletic Department, the Alumni Association, Student Affairs, IPTAY and other campus groups.

Amid lawsuits and widespread speculation, TV stands as the stealth factor while ACC leaders and the conference’s school presidents decide how to handle Clemson and Florida State in a way that can placate all parties.

As we’ve discussed on the Reign Supreme Alway podcast, it’s hard to ignore the strong potential that Fox wants into Southern markets in a significant way — and that the network would make that financially worthwhile for the Big Ten.

Why is Fox even relevant, though, when the ACC is under contract with ESPN (where Clemson will kickoff against Florida State on Oct. 5 at either 7 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. ET)?

Because the two schools with the conference’s biggest viewerships want out badly enough that they are paying lawyers to try to make it happen. The legal back-and-forth makes the conference unstable — and creates a shaky future at a time when ESPN has the ability to simply forgo its broadcast rights and walk away.

The potential early end of ESPN’s contract serves as a driving force while ACC officials offer up uneven revenue distribution as a means to settling lawsuits between the conference and two of its biggest brands. A plan that gives high-viewership teams such as Clemson and FSU much higher annual payouts, and gets them significantly closer to the massive amounts earned by Big Ten and SEC teams, can give ESPN the stability it wants in a broadcast property worth $42 million a year. The network needs to be sure its investment stands protected. Because an ACC that lacks Clemson and FSU should the two schools win in court (not to mention any others who might then follow) lacks a significant percentage of relevant viewership that can be sold to broadcasters’ advertising clients.

Virginia Tech, Pitt and N.C. State just can’t carry that load without teams like Clemson and FSU on their schedules. ESPN knows that. 

It’s easy to wonder what the thinking is like for presidents and chancellors of schools such as that middle-of-the-road trio, as they face the prospect of casting a vote to accept a smaller piece of the ACC pie.

Let’s lay out some of the possible outcomes if the ACC were to crack apart, driven behind the scenes by Fox licking its chops to try to expand the Big Ten into the South as a truly nationwide superconference. 

Fox would want Clemson, FSU and UNC for eyeballs … aka ratings … driven by a mix of generally solid competition (or at least intrigue), loyal fan bases and valuable reach into multiple solid media markets. 

It’d want Georgia Tech and Louisville for new-to-B1G geography and occasional upcycles of strong competition. 

Then … Maybe Va. Tech? Maybe Pitt? Maybe N.C. State is able to stay connected alongside UNC for a move? Or do those schools end up in the American or MAC making, say, about $35 million less in TV money per year? 

So, do schools in that position blink and decide they’re better off accepting a $10 million, $12 million cut (or more) in TV money after all? How confident could Louisville’s thinking be as it sits in the 58th largest media market? Or Va. Tech, more than two hours from 51st-largest Richmond?

If ESPN declines the broadcast option in its ACC contract, all of that moves squarely into consideration. Thus, the conference needs to keep ESPN happy more now than ever before. This significantly motivates the resurfacing talks of uneven revenue distribution. 

It’s important to know the numbers behind the points that have been referenced above.

First, here’s a look at the top 10 ACC football programs ranked by their TV ratings, weighted to lessen being skewed by an unusually strong opponent and more accurately reflect their ability to draw viewers week in and week out:

1. Clemson
2. Florida State
3. Miami
4. Louisville
5. Virginia Tech
6. North Carolina
7. Stanford
8. Pitt
9. N.C. State
10. Georgia Tech

1. Atlanta (7th-largest nationally)
2. Miami (11th)
3. Tampa (16th)
4. Charlotte (20th)
5. Orlando (30th)
6. Raleigh-Durham (35th)
7. Jacksonville (44th)
8. Greensboro (47th)
9. West Palm Beach (48th)
10. Fort Myers-Naples (54th)
11. Greenville-Spartanburg (57th)
12. Louisville (58th) 

• https://x.com/TJAltimore/status/1787855308435382290
• https://www.nielsen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Populations_Rankings.pdf