With the start of the 2021 college football season less than two weeks away, another national outlet has released its preseason top 25 rankings.
Pro Football Focus ranks Clemson as the No. 3 team in the country entering the 2021 season, behind Oklahoma at No. 1 and Alabama at No. 2.
Ohio State, Georgia, North Carolina, Cincinnati, Texas A&M, Miami and LSU round out PFF’s preseason top 25, in that order.
Here is what PFF’s Anthony Treash wrote about the Tigers heading into the 2021 campaign:
- “There isn’t much to be concerned about with the Tigers’ defensive unit. Defensive coordinator Brent Venables has a star-studded group that features 2020 No. 1 overall recruit Bryan Bresee and 2020 No. 7 overall recruit Myles Murphy, who were each standout performers along the defensive line as true freshmen. Clemson has ranked top three in EPA allowed in five of the seven years of the PFF College era. It’d be a surprise if they didn’t make it six of eight in 2021.
“There is a little bit of concern with the offense. Primarily with the ground game, as Clemson no longer has the home run-hitter, Travis Etienne, in the backfield. He led the Tigers to the Power Five’s most efficient run game over the last three years. Dabo Swinney and Co. got a glimpse of life without Trevor Lawrence in 2020 when the No. 1 overall pick was out for a couple of games due to COVID-19. True freshman D.J. Uiagalelei took over and showed plenty to get excited about, including a cannon of a right arm. The former five-star posted an 83.6 passing grade, five big-time throws and zero turnover-worthy plays. There was an issue with his accuracy on sideline throws because of his mechanics. That’ll be something to monitor this fall, but the overall early returns were promising. Uiagalelei will have a quality receiving unit at his disposal with comeback injury candidates Justyn Ross and Joe Ngata leading the way.”
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