The Clemson Tigers had a bye over the weekend, but there was still plenty of excitement in Week 3 of the college football season.
Georgia went on the road and played a hard-fought contest at Kentucky. The Bulldogs narrowly won, marking a third straight time they’ve survived a tough road test in Lexington. Georgia’s ugly win caused them to slip to No. 2 in this week’s AP Top 25 Poll; the Bulldogs remained No. 1 in the US LBM Coaches Poll.
Clemson rose one spot in the Coaches Poll to No. 19 (and one spot to No. 21 in the AP poll). The Tigers have a big game this Saturday when NC State heads to Death Valley. Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET. The game will be televised on ABC.
As we like to do every Monday, here’s a look at what college football’s national gunslingers are saying about Dabo Swinney’s team.
Over at ESPN, David Hale and company moved the Tigers up two spots to No. 17 in their weekly power rankings. Within the ACC, Miami stayed at No. 6 after a third straight week of dominance on the gridiron. Louisville checked in at No. 19.
Hale said of Clemson:
“Clemson was off in Week 3, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t an eventful few days for the Tigers. For one, folks around Clemson are still riding high off the Tigers’ Week 2 drubbing of Appalachian State. The 66-20 win was a long-awaited glimpse of the offensive heft Dabo Swinney has promised — but not delivered — for the past few years.
Meanwhile, Clemson’s next game on the slate comes against NC State, a contest that just a few weeks ago seemed like a harbinger of who would win the ACC. Now though? The Wolfpack have struggled badly in all three games and starting QB Grayson McCall could be out with a true freshman getting the nod instead. Given NC State’s struggles on the O-line, the combination of a freshman QB and Clemson’s dynamic defensive front could translate to another emphatic Tigers win and another chance to put the opener against Georgia in the rearview mirror.”
Separately, Clemson was ranked No. 21 in ESPN’s updated Week 3 SP+ rankings for all 134 FBS teams.
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Over at CBS Sports, Clemson stayed at No. 18 in Brandon Marcello’s weekly power rankings, one spot below No. 17 Oklahoma State and one ahead of No. 19 Michigan.
Marcello echoed the same sentiment as ESPN’s Hale regarding Clemson’s schedule:
“Clemson’s schedule suddenly seems much easier after what transpired in the first three weeks. NC State doesn’t seem formidable with an inconsistent Grayson McCall at quarterback and Florida State is historically bad, starting the year 0-3 for only the third time in program history. The toughest game remaining on the schedule is Louisville, which travels to Death Valley on Nov. 2. The Tigers won’t see Miami until the ACC Championship Game.”
Over at The Athletic (subscription required), Clemson stayed at No. 18 in their weekly ranking of all 134 FBS teams. Miami was the highest ranked ACC team at No. 6 while another conference foe made the top 25 rankings: Bill O’Brien’s Boston College Eagles, who placed one spot behind the Tigers at No. 19.
The highest ranking Clemson got in various college football rankings came from Fox Sports, where analyst RJ Young has the Tigers at No. 14 after Week 3, one spot behind Big 12 contender Utah.
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