According to one ESPN writer, Clemson isn’t on the same level as the top programs in the country.
David M. Hale recently ranked each of the 131 college football teams, putting each program in tiers.
Hale believes Clemson is in tier two, which he calls “How quickly we forgot,” with Michigan, Notre Dame and Oklahoma. He has Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State in tier one as the clear favorites to win a national championship.
Here’s what Hale had to say about the Tigers heading into the 2022 season.
Clemson made the College Football Playoff six straight seasons, but in 2021, the offense fell apart and the Tigers ceded the ACC to Pitt. Was that a blip or the start of a trend? Dabo Swinney has made no secret that he doesn’t enjoy the cool new trends sweeping college football (name, image and likeness, the transfer portal, and for most of 2021, the forward pass) and with a slew of new assistants (nearly all of whom were promoted from within), 2022 stands as a referendum on whether Swinney’s old standards will hold up in the modern era.
While Hale believes the Tigers are not on the same level as the other top three teams, his tier selection lines up with preseason polls.
Clemson is No. 4 in both the Associated Press (AP) poll and USA TODAY Sports’ AFCA Coaches Poll.
Additionally, both polls have Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State above Clemson.
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