Clemson debuts in top 10 of ESPN preseason ranking |
ESPN's preseason Football Power Index was released on Tuesday
and Clemson cracked the top 10.
The Tigers debuted at No. 8 in the projection (19.4 rating), which paces the ACC ahead of a No. 13 Florida State (15). Ohio State leads the way (31.5), followed by Alabama (28.2), Georgia (27.4) and LSU (22.1). Texas (21.9) and Michigan (21.4) are also ahead of the Tigers. The FPI sees a top-10 battle in November between Clemson and No. 9 Notre Dame (18.4) in Death Valley. Clemson is given the seventh-best shot at a national title (3%) and also for making the College Football Playoff (24%). The only other ACC team in the top 25 is North Carolina (10.2), at No. 25. ESPN contrasted Clemson and a preseason media favorite with FSU. "The model is mostly buying the offense (rank: No. 10) but is less confident in the defense, which it ranks 26th," said ESPN's Seth Walder of FSU. "In general, Florida State has lower talent rankings (based on the recruiting ranks of players on the roster) than the teams above it in FPI. The Seminoles rank 17th in offensive talent and 24th in defensive talent. There's a lot to like here -- just not quite as a top-10 team yet. "It's in part due to the talent gap that FPI still likes Clemson (FPI rank: eighth) more in the ACC. The Tigers, who have higher talent ratings on both sides of the ball, have a 45% chance to win the ACC, while the model gives Florida State just a 17% chance." Clemson's Labor Day road opener opponent Duke is ranked 53rd, with an 85.2% win projection to the Tigers. FPI ranks for Clemson FBS opponents 9/4 at Duke - 53rd 9/16 FAU - 82nd 9/23 Florida State - T-13th 9/30 at Syracuse - 34th 10/7 Wake Forest - 47th 10/21 at Miami - 29th 10/28 at NC State - 36th 11/4 Notre Dame - 9th 11/11 Georgia Tech - 65th 11/18 UNC - 25th 11/25 at South Carolina - 42nd
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