{"id":2694,"date":"2026-07-03T16:36:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T16:36:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2694"},"modified":"2026-07-03T16:36:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T16:36:28","slug":"ex-clemson-coach-danny-ford-sounds-off-on-tigers-2026-season-lsu-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2694","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Clemson coach Danny Ford sounds off on Tigers\u2019 2026 season, LSU opener"},"content":{"rendered":"

Danny Ford<\/a> is a fan of Clemson football and Dabo Swinney.<\/p>\n

Having played and coached in a lot of night games at LSU\u2019s Tiger Stadium<\/a>, though, he also knows that atmosphere can rattle even the most seasoned quarterback.<\/p>\n

Read more Was Confederate symbol ever part of NC\u2019s flag? How it came to \u2018State Fair\u2019 booth<\/a><\/p>\n

So when Ford thinks about Clemson\u2019s 2026 season<\/a>, he keeps coming back to the season opener at LSU \u2013 and how Clemson\u2019s new starting QB will handle the pressure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis first ball game in Baton Rouge with a quarterback that\u2019s never started? Man, you\u2019re asking a lot from anybody,\u201d Ford said in a radio interview with SportsTalkSC<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019ve played football in Baton Rouge as a player. I\u2019ve coached there as a coach. There\u2019s a whole lotta difference between nighttime and daytime in Baton Rouge.\u201d<\/p>\n

In its first ever game at LSU<\/a>, on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 7:30 p.m., Clemson is expected to start redshirt junior Christopher Vizzina<\/a> at quarterback. Swinney hasn\u2019t explicitly named Vizzina his 2026 starter, but he said after spring practice Vizzina still had \u201cpole position\u201d in the competition<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Vizzina, Cade Klubnik\u2019s primary backup the past three seasons, has appeared in 14 games for Clemson and started one game last year<\/a> when Klubnik had an ankle injury. Swinney notably declined to pursue a transfer quarterback<\/a> this offseason because of his confidence in Vizzina and the rest of the team\u2019s QBs, including true freshman Tait Reynolds<\/a>, who enters the fall as Clemson\u2019s QB2.<\/p>\n

Ford, 78, led Clemson football to its first national championship in 1981 and coached the Tigers for 12 seasons<\/a>. Speaking to SportsTalkSC on June 10, Ford said this season is an \u201cimportant\u201d one for Clemson and Swinney after a 7-6 finish in 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But until he sees them play LSU, he\u2019s not sure how it\u2019ll go.<\/p>\n

Ford experienced multiple night games at LSU as a player and assistant coach at Alabama and as head coach at Arkansas<\/a> from 1993-97.<\/p>\n

Clemson is currently an 11.5-point betting underdog in the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhew, it\u2019s gonna be a telling story, but you\u2019ll learn a lot from that first football game,\u201d Ford said, adding with a laugh: \u201cSo instead of predicting how they\u2019re gonna do, I\u2019m gonna wait until September.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ford also said the fact the game is Lane Kiffin\u2019s LSU coaching debut<\/a> could loom large.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s gonna try to show out on TV and run it up all he can run it up and beat \u2018em by all he can beat \u2018em,\u201d Ford said of LSU, No. 10 in ESPN\u2019s post-spring Top 25<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read more In Charlotte, the Fourth of July will break the heat record and feel like 107<\/a><\/p>\n

In his interview with SportsTalkSC, Ford \u2013 who retired to the Clemson area, still lives and works on his farm<\/a> and recently helped his son make a run for SC agriculture commissioner<\/a> \u2013 also weighed in on the state of college football.<\/p>\n

Ford still follows the sport closely, and said it\u2019s \u201cunbelievable\u201d how much money coaches (and players) are making nowadays compared to what he made while coaching. He\u2019s concerned that the ever-rising costs of funding an elite football roster in the NIL\/revenue-sharing era will drive away fans and donors.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can\u2019t continue,\u201d Ford said. \u201cPeople are going to get tired of it. They hit the same people for NIL every year. Unless you\u2019re a big, big school with a lot of money or you\u2019re in oil or something special like Texas (schools) \u2026 it\u2019s tough to survive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ford said universities with larger alumni bases also have a natural advantage because they have more graduates to solicit NIL donations from. He pointed to the fact Clemson has about 200,000 living alumni<\/a>, while Ohio State<\/a> has about 600,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s gonna continue to win in that situation?\u201d Ford said.<\/p>\n

Ford said the NCAA\u2019s current \u201cWild West\u201d setup is the organization\u2019s own fault because it \u201cwanted to fight the court system\u201d on the notion of paying student-athletes instead of embracing the trend and formalizing a system.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you don\u2019t have any control over anybody that works under you or for you, then you\u2019ve got no system,\u201d Ford said of the NCAA.<\/p>\n

Clemson\u2019s former coach said the current environment is \u201cnot feasible,\u201d but he anticipates the gap between the haves and the have-nots will keep widening because \u201ceverybody\u2019s got the answer as long as it doesn\u2019t affect their program.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if they keep it up, it\u2019s gonna be a big 25 schools (with major advantages) and everybody else playing intramural football,\u201d Ford said.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published July 2, 2026 at 7:00 AM<\/span> with the headline “Ex-Clemson coach Danny Ford sounds off on Tigers\u2019 2026 season, LSU opener.” <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Read more NC jail inmates staged a revolt, took hostages. Officials won\u2019t say much<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Danny Ford discusses Clemson\u2019s key 2026 season, the LSU opener and concerns about NIL, revenue sharing and widening program disparities in college football.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2693,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nEx-Clemson coach Danny Ford sounds off on Tigers\u2019 2026 season, LSU opener - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2694\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ex-Clemson coach Danny Ford sounds off on Tigers\u2019 2026 season, LSU opener - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Danny Ford discusses Clemson\u2019s key 2026 season, the LSU opener and concerns about NIL, revenue sharing and widening program disparities in college football.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2694\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-03T16:36:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2694#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2694\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"headline\":\"Ex-Clemson coach Danny Ford sounds off on Tigers\u2019 2026 season, LSU opener\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T16:36:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2694\"},\"wordCount\":821,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2694#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/d97284325abb8d897c91f781a3efc6cc.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2694#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2694\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2694\",\"name\":\"Ex-Clemson coach Danny Ford sounds off on Tigers\u2019 2026 season, LSU opener - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2694#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2694#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/d97284325abb8d897c91f781a3efc6cc.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T16:36:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2694#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2694\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2694#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/d97284325abb8d897c91f781a3efc6cc.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/d97284325abb8d897c91f781a3efc6cc.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":674,\"caption\":\"Former Clemson Tigers head football coach Danny Ford laughs as he responds to a question during an interview on Friday, July 22, 2022. 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