Clemson ranked No. 1 in Athlon preseason top-25

Brandon Rink · Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer · Tuesday, May 19 2020

Clemson was ranked No. 1 in Athlon's preseason top-25 release on Tuesday.

The Tigers lead a top-5 that's filled out with Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Penn State.

"Dabo Swinney’s Tigers are Athlon’s pick to win it all in 2020. Clemson has made an appearance in...the last five playoffs, won two out of the last (four) national titles, and has lost a total of five games over the last five years," Athlon's preview read. "The schedule is very manageable for Swinney’s team and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see this program favored by double digits in most games. A road trip to Notre Dame on Nov. 7 is the toughest matchup on the slate."

Notre Dame is No. 9 on the list, and the ACC has two more reps with UNC (18) and Virginia Tech (24).