ESPN buys FSU hype over Clemson in power rankings |
We’re still a long way from Clemson kicking off the season at Duke, but prognostication about the upcoming year is well underway. ESPN senior writer Mark Schlabach released
his post-spring top 25 power rankings. His top 10 is very interesting and he is certainly putting his stake in the ground on some teams – namely putting Florida State at No. 3, six spots above Clemson at No. 9.
ESPN's college football power rankings are out. Here's their top 10. Who would you rank higher or lower? pic.twitter.com/MymgBMPKmQ Georgia and Michigan at No. 1 and No. 2 is only right. They’re the only teams to appear in each of the last two playoffs. Georgia loses QB Stetson Bennett, but he was never thought of as the key driver to their success. We’ll see if that is true. Michigan had nine players drafted including their top two receiving options, but QB JJ McCarthy is back after beating out Cade McNamara last season and is now the unquestioned starter. Superstar running back Blake Corum is also back after a late-season injury kept him from entering the NFL draft. Florida State at No. 3 is certainly the boldest and most audacious part of these rankings. Seminole QB Jordan Travis had 3,214 passing yards with a sterling 24-5 TD-to-INT ratio and 417 rushing yards. He posted 254 passing yards and 64 rushing yards against Clemson. He is a major ACC Player of the Year candidate. Florida State still isn’t recruiting at Clemson’s level, but they’re making up for it with success in the transfer portal. Ever since turning Georgia reserve pass rusher Jermaine Johnson into a star defensive end and first round NFL draft pick, they’ve had their pick of the litter from the portal. This year they got help on the offensive and defensive lines. They also added South Carolina playmaker TE Jaheim Bell and the highest-rated cornerback (per PFF) in the ACC, Fentrell Cypress from Virginia. On the flipside, they haven’t beaten Clemson since 2014 and their only good win last year was the season opener against LSU. After that, their best wins were Louisville (8-5), Florida (6-7), and Oklahoma (6-7). In fact, they were just 3-3 against teams that finished with winning records. They may be ready to take a big step, but it seems everyone is acting as if they’re already a proven National Title contender. USC returns Heisman winner QB Caleb Williams and used the transfer portal to plug some of their holes on defense. No. 4 seems about right for the Trojans. Although the Buckeyes lost QB CJ Stroud to the NFL draft, I don’t expect a big step back from last year. Before Stroud, the Buckeyes got elite QB play from Justin Fields and before him they got a 50-TD season from Dwayne Haskins. As such, I expect continued offensive success when five-star Kyle McCord takes over. No. 5 is fair and I could see the Buckeyes even higher. At No. 6, ESPN has the Alabama Crimson Tide. It’s hard to ever knock Alabama given all they’ve done in Saban’s tenure, but it feels like they’re trending down. They lost arguably their three best players to the NFL Draft (QB Bryce Young, LB Will Anderson, and RB Jahmyr Gibbs) and both coordinators. The hirings of OC Tommy Rees (from Notre Dame) and DC Kevin Steele (from Miami) aren’t going to wow anyone either. At QB, neither Ty Simpson (a former Clemson recruiting target) nor Jalen Milroe ran away with the job. Although Tommy Rees used the portal to replace Tyler Buchner with Sam Hartman before he left Notre Dame, he brought Buchner to Alabama via the portal. Nick Saban deserves the benefit of the doubt, but it isn’t looking great. Next up, LSU was up-and-down but won the SEC West and returns QB Jayden Daniels and a talented WR corps. Coach Brian Kelly has been a stabilizing force. At No. 8, Penn State has a tough task playing in the same division as Michigan and Ohio State, but won all their other games last year. They also went just 7-6 in 2021 so there may be some recency bias with the Nittany Lions being ranked above Clemson. Finally, the Clemson Tigers come in at No. 9. There are legitimate concerns about the offense and how quickly new OC Garrett Riley can fix things if the wide receiver play doesn’t improve. Still, the defense has given some strong signals that they’re ready to return to their typical level of dominance. The secondary looked massively improved in the spring game and seems poised for a big season. The No. 9 ranking isn’t totally out of place, but it is probably the floor for the Tigers given their strong defense and schedule that only has a few dangerous games (Florida State, Notre Dame, and South Carolina). Dabo Swinney may be getting exactly what he wants though as he’ll have an excuse to fire up the ROY (“Rest of Y’all”) bus and motivate the team in preparation for the ACC favorite Seminoles. Two teams just outside the top 10 that I’d consider moving up are Tennessee and Washington. The Vols beat Alabama, LSU, and Clemson last season and fall below all three. Sure, they lost QB Hendon Hooker and WR Jalin Hyatt, but they were without them when they beat Clemson. Washington brings back QB Michael Penix and they ended their season on a high note by beating Texas. The Huskies also made several additions via the transfer portal including RB Daniyel Ngata, the brother of former Clemson WR Joseph Ngata. They’re the biggest threat to USC in the Pac-12. To see my top 10, check out the video below:
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