Where Clemson ranks among college football's undefeated this season

Clemson is among 15 undefeated FBS teams currently and looking to stay in that tier with a weekend trip to Florida State.

by TigerNet Staff - Wed Oct 12 10:46:41 GMT-04:00 2022

The number of undefeated teams is down to 15 six weeks (+ week zero) into the season and multiple outlets have assessed the strength of that group as it's set to dwindle in the second half of the season.

ESPN has Clemson as the sixth-best undefeated at this point, given a 12.1% chance to finish the regular season 12-0.

"The Tigers are in an interesting place -- clearly good, far more well-rounded than last season, devoid of any killer weaknesses ... but not really elite at anything either," said ESPN's Bill Connelly. "The defensive line isn't as disruptive as I thought it would be, the secondary remains passive, and while the offense has improved dramatically, it's not really better than anyone else's in this list's top 10. The ACC is weak enough that shortcomings might not matter, but they would in a hypothetical CFP trip."

The top-5 there is Ohio State then Alabama, Georgia, Michigan and Tennessee.

CBS has Clemson a spot ahead of Tennessee and two ahead of Michigan for a No. 4 ranking.

"Any doubts about DJ Uiagalelei's ability to not only maintain control of the starting job but thrive in that position have been put to rest with a strong start to 2022," said CBS Sports' Chip Patterson. "Uiagalelei has 14 touchdowns to just two interceptions, and when Clemson's ACC title and College Football Playoff hopes were on the line in a shootout with Wake Forest, the junior had answers at every turn with five touchdowns and no picks in the win. We haven't seen enough consistency to bump the Tigers up into that top tier yet with the Big 3, but with the rest of the top 10 all being somewhat of a work in progress at this point in the season I think Clemson is the best of that bunch."

The CBS top-3 order is Ohio State then Georgia and Alabama.

Of note, another possible unbeaten opponent coming to Clemson next week with Syracuse is ranked 13th (CBS) and 14th (ESPN) out of the group.

A separate CBS postseason projection has Clemson going to the Playoff in a matchup with a No. 1 Georgia in Atlanta opposite an Alabama-Ohio State semifinal. Both ESPN projections have the same football final four.