Clemson continues to remain stable in the polls despite what was almost its first loss of the season last week versus Wake Forest in a double overtime thriller. Though the Tigers showed much grit and improvement on the offensive side of the ball, there was much to improve upon defensively.
In the latest undefeated poll released by ESPN earlier this week that ranked all 21 remaining undefeated college football teams this season, Clemson continued to hang on at No. 5, which is where the Tigers have consistently been ranked in numerous polls. In addition to Clemson, ESPN has Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State and Michigan as the 1-4 ranked teams respectively to round out the top five.
Here’s what ESPN’s Bill Connelly had to say about Clemson and their fifth-place ranking:
“What on earth do we make of a Tigers team that is simultaneously looking better than expected on offense and worse than expected on defense? DJ Uiagalelei is coming off his best performance in a Clemson uniform (371 yards and five touchdowns against Wake), but his team nearly lost anyway because the secondary got torched by Sam Hartman & Co. What will that mean in Week 5 against an NC State team that has shown far more on defense than offense? I’m not sure, but I’ll give Clemson the benefit of the doubt for one more week.”
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