Clemson ranked No. 3 in full FBS ESPN ranking

Clemson has at least one spot to gain in the fall with the SP+ rankings.

Brandon Rink · Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer · Tuesday, September 01 2020

ESPN updated its college football rankings by the SP+ metric and arrived at an interesting conclusion.

After an offseason unlike any other, Alabama (29) slipped from its No. 1 spot earlier this year -- behind Ohio State (30.1), which had its season postponed. The SP+ ranking will only feature teams playing this fall once FBS teams start playing, however.

Clemson is No. 3 (26), with a projected offense at No. 4 and a defense that moved up a spot to No. 12 since the first 2020 rankings.

Georgia (25.5) and Florida (23.8) round out the top-5. After a slew of opt-outs, LSU fell from No. 6 to No. 13 in the ranking.

Clemson's new-look FBS schedule checks in at: No. 9 Notre Dame (20.5), No. 23 Miami (12.9), No. 27 Florida State (11.7), No. 35 Virginia Tech (9.3), No. 40 Pittsburgh (7.4), No. 43 Virginia (5.9), No. 54 Georgia Tech (2.9), No. 67 Boston College (-1.4), No. 87 Syracuse (-5.9) and No. 88 Wake Forest (-5.9; making Clemson a 32-point favorite on a neutral field for the opener).