Clemson’s initial College Football Playoff ranking unveiled

by Brandon Rink - Staff Writer - Tue Nov 01 19:15:10 GMT-04:00 2022

The College Football Playoff committee’s initial snapshot of the CFP picture is in.

Clemson was ranked No. 4 in the first committee poll Tuesday after an 8-0 start before heading to Notre Dame for a primetime matchup this Saturday (7:30 p.m./NBC).

Clemson has three wins over current CFP Top-25 teams with Syracuse (20), Wake Forest (21) and NC State (22).

Per ESPN, the Tigers are No. 4 in Strength of Record in a top group with Tennessee (1), Ohio State (2) and TCU (3). Clemson is determined to have the lowest strength of schedule of that group per ESPN, at No. 72, with fellow CFP contenders Georgia (75) and Michigan (79) below them and Tennessee (19) leading Ohio State (52) and TCU (63) also there. One-loss Alabama is the lone team to hold a top-10 ranking in FPI (2), Strength of Record (6) and Strength of Schedule (10).

FiveThirtyEight’s odds going into the week have Ohio State with the top CFP projection (67), followed by Georgia (64), Clemson (54) and Tennessee (45), with Michigan (35), Alabama (30) and TCU in the next tier (29). The Tigers are given a nearly 100% chance to make it by going 13-0.

In overall metric rankings, Clemson checked in at No. 7 in the ESPN Football Power Index and No. 11 with ESPN’s SP+ rankings. Ohio State leads both rankings currently.

There are a couple of top-15 matchups this weekend that should help shake things up in the next rankings with Georgia hosting Tennessee (3:30 p.m./CBS) and LSU hosting Alabama (7 p.m./ESPN).

The Tigers missed the Playoff last season with a 9-3 regular season after making it each year from 2015-20. Clemson didn't start in the CFP rankings for the first time since their inception last year but finished No. 19 there ahead of the Cheez-It Bowl win over Iowa State.

Clemson started at least No. 5 in the CFP poll each season from 2015-20.

2022-23 Playoff committee

Mitch Barnhart (athletics director, University of Kentucky), Tom Burman (athletics director, University of Wyoming), chairman Boo Corrigan (athletics director, North Carolina State University), Rick George (athletics director, University of Colorado), Will Shields (former All-American offensive lineman, University of Nebraska), Gene Taylor (athletics director, Kansas State University), Joe Taylor (Vice President for Athletics and Community Wellness, Virginia Union University), John Urschel (member of the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ and former All-American offensive lineman, Penn State University), Rod West (group president Entergy Corporation and former linebacker at the University of Notre Dame), Chet Gladchuk (athletics director at the U.S. Naval Academy), Jim Grobe (longtime head coach at Ohio University, Wake Forest and Baylor), Warde Manuel (athletics director at the University of Michigan) and Kelly Whiteside (longtime sportswriter for USA Today, Sports Illustrated and Newsday).

Playoff rankings - 11/1

1. Tennessee

2. Ohio State

3. Georgia

4. Clemson

5. Michigan

6. Alabama

7. TCU

8. Oregon

9. Southern Cal

10. LSU

11. Ole Miss