Clemson moves up final ESPN preseason ranking

Clemson moved up five spots to No. 7 in the final preseason outlook for ESPN's SP+ metric.

by TigerNet Staff - Wed Aug 16 08:55:40 GMT-04:00 2023

The final projections for one ESPN metric jumped Clemson up five spots and to the ACC lead going into the 2023 season ($).

Clemson is No. 7 overall (22.9 rating) in the 2023 SP+ preseason rankings, up from a No. 12 spot from the initial release earlier this year. Florida State was No. 10 in that ranking, but they dropped to No. 12 (19.1) in the final outlook.

The Tigers are pegged to have the No. 14 offense and No. 8 defense against the No. 51-ranked schedule.

Notre Dame (19.9) is Clemson's highest-ranked opponent, at No. 11, and North Carolina rounds out the Top 25 (12.9).

Of those top-3-rated foes, FSU is projected to have Top 25 offensive (23) and defensive (18) groups, while Notre Dame isn't far off (No. 26 offense/No. 13 defense).

Georgia (29.2), Ohio State (29), Michigan (28.6), Alabama (28.1), LSU (23.3) and Penn State (23.2) are ranked ahead of Clemson.

The ratings indicate that the metric favors Clemson by a field goal over the Seminoles in a potential neutral site meeting in the ACC Championship.

SP+ author Bill Connelly focused more on Clemson defensive improvement than the new-look offense earlier this year.

"The defense had no clear and obvious weaknesses in coordinator Wes Goodwin's first year, but it went from great to good in a lot of categories and slipped from first to 25th in defensive SP+," Connelly said. "A sophomore-heavy secondary was a little on the passive side, and the line battled injuries; even with more offensive improvement likely, the defense will need to at least bounce back to a top-15-or-so level for Clemson to have national aspirations.

"It has the talent to do so. Tackles Ruke Orhorhoro and Tyler Davis combined for 19 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks, and after missing most of 2022 with injury, sixth-year end Xavier Thomas should provide a boost on the edge. Nickelback Barrett Carter and linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (combined: 16.5 TFLs, 18 passes defended, 24 run stops) are incredibly well-rounded. An aggression boost in the secondary could make a big difference."

On average, the ACC is pegged as the fifth-best football conference, trailing the Pac-12, despite ranking second in returning production (64.7%).

Clemson is ranked No. 8 and leading the ACC also in ESPN's other primary college football ranking metric, the Football Power Index.