Athlon Sports on Monday released its early ACC power rankings for the 2022 college football season. Safe to say the publication is high on Clemson.
Athlon predicted the Tigers to return to the top of ACC’s Atlantic Division after Clemson finished 10-3 overall and 6-2 in the conference this season. In explaining why he has Clemson at No. 1 in the division for now, Athlon’s Steven Lassen noted the Tigers’ defensive prowess and the experience Clemson has returning on that side of the ball as the primary reason.
“Even with coordinator Brent Venables off to be the head coach at Oklahoma, the strength of Clemson’s ’22 squad will be its defense,” Lassen wrote. “This unit led the ACC by limiting teams to just 14.8 points a game in ’21 and returns standouts up front in Bryan Bresee and Myles Murphy, along with linebacker Trenton Simpson and safety Andrew Mukuba.
“However, big concerns still surround the offense. The Tigers need better play up front and at receiver. Also, is quarterback DJ Uiagalelei poised to improve in his second year as the starter? Or will freshman Cade Klubnik win the job this offseason?”
Athlon has Wake Forest, which has quarterback Sam Hartman returning after winning the Atlantic Division this season, at No. 2 followed by North Carolina State. Athlon predicted Pittsburgh to repeat as the Coastal Division champ.
Check out Athlon’s full ACC predictions here.
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