Clemson ranked as high as top-10 in latest 'way-too-early' rankings |
Brandon Rink
· · Tuesday, January 10 2023
The end of the 2022 college football season Monday night brought a number of 'way-too-early' ranking outlooks for the season to come in 2023.
Opinions on where Clemson slots in 2023 are widely varied. Toward the top is USA TODAY's outlook, which has the Tigers at No. 8. "Cade Klubnik's sloppy Orange Bowl against Tennessee raises some questions about whether he'll be able to play at an all-conference level in his first year in the full-time job, though he'll benefit from an entire offseason as the established starter," said Paul Myerberg. "There also are concerns about the offense in general, and specifically whether Clemson can give Klubnik the talent he needs at wide receiver. But the Tigers bring back star defensive tackle Tyler Davis and should be very stout defensively. They'll need to handle a pretty tough schedule that has Notre Dame and South Carolina in non-conference play." The top-4 there is Georgia, Michigan, Alabama and Florida State. Early Nov. home opponent Notre Dame is No. 7 and UNC is 18th. ESPN has Clemson the lowest at No. 15. "The sky isn't falling over Death Valley, but Dabo Swinney's dynasty did seem to show some crack the past couple of seasons," Mark Schlabach writes. "Swinney set the ceiling ridiculously high by winning two national championships in three years, in 2016 and 2018, and the Tigers went a combined 21-6 the past two seasons. But Clemson's talent level seemed to slip behind Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State, and now much of the star power from its ridiculously talented defensive line is leaving for the NFL draft. Uiagalelei entered the transfer portal after he was benched and transferred to Oregon State. The Cade Klubnik era started during the loss to Tennessee in the Orange Bowl. Four starting offensive linemen are expected back, and receiver Antonio Williams played well as a freshman. There are some solid pieces around Klubnik. The Tigers play nonconference games against Notre Dame (home) and South Carolina (road) in 2023." The ranking is topped by Georgia then Ohio State, Michigan and Florida State. Notre Dame is No. 14 and UNC is No. 21. Rounding out the early, early rankings so far, CBS Sports has Clemson No. 9, Pro Football Focus has Clemson No. 11, Sporting News has Clemson No. 14, SI also has Clemson No. 14 and The Athletic has Clemson No. 15. Rival and 2023 road trip South Carolina is as high as No. 19 in those rankings (SI). Clemson way-too-early ranks 247Sports: 11 Action Network: 9 Athlon: 13 CBS: 9 ESPN: 15 PFF: 11 Sporting News: 14 Sports Illustrated: 14 The Athletic: 15 USA TODAY: 8
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