ESPN’s latest college football power rankings, released Sunday, show Clemson (6-1, 5-0 ACC) holding its place among the top teams but slipping slightly to No. 10 after an idle Week 9. Previously ranked No. 7 following their 48-31 win over Virginia, the Tigers dropped three spots during their open weekend.
Oregon leads the updated rankings, keeping the No. 1 position after beating Illinois. Georgia, Texas, Penn State, and Ohio State round out the top five, each winning their respective Week 9 games. Within the ACC, Miami slipped to No. 6 despite a decisive 36-14 victory over Florida State, while Pittsburgh climbed to No. 14 after a dominant Thursday win over Syracuse. SMU, with a close overtime win at Duke, now sits at No. 19.
The 6-1 Tigers are coming off their bye week, and it’s hard to find much to seriously nitpick about their defense in ACC play. Dabo Swinney needed to see improvement from the Tigers’ run defense after Stanford burned them for 236 rushing yards, and they responded by holding each of their past three opponents under 90 rushing yards. He’d also like to see their backups do a better job of getting stops. Clemson has allowed 107 points over five conference games, but 54 of those points were scored in garbage time when the Tigers were up big. Virginia dropped 21 points in the fourth quarter of their 48-31 loss last week. Competitive depth on defense is a must if this team is looking to make a deep CFP run.
Clemson also saw some movement in the traditional polls: they dropped to No. 11 in the AP Top 25 but gained a spot, moving to No. 8 in the Coaches Poll. Right now, it feels like the Tigers are being punished for having a bye week. Recency bias is at full force here.
Following their bye, Clemson is set to host Louisville at Death Valley this Saturday, Nov. 2, in a prime-time 7:30 p.m. matchup on ESPN.