Clemson ranked No. 1 in unusual AP preseason top 25 |
Clemson topped an unusual preseason Associated Press Top 25 in a quite unusual year already on Monday.
The AP chose to have its pollsters rank the 25-best out of all 130 FBS teams despite two Power 5 conferences and four FBS conferences total postponing their seasons to the spring. The next AP weekly ranking will only include teams playing in the fall, however. Clemson garnered 38 first-place votes to No. 2 Ohio State's 21, with Alabama next (2) then Georgia and Oklahoma. It’s a second-straight season Dabo Swinney’s Tigers have been preseason No. 1 with the AP, after being ranked in the top spot preseason for the first time last year. Clemson is the sixth program since the inception of the preseason poll in 1950 ever to open consecutive preseason polls at No. 1, joining Alabama (2016-18), USC (2004-05), Oklahoma (1985-87, 1974-75, 1956-57), Ohio State (1969-70) and Notre Dame (1953-54). Prior to Clemson's No. 1 ranking last preseason, the program's previous preseason high had been second, the preseason rank held by both the 2016 and 2018 squads that would each go on to earn the national championship. By virtue of a second straight preseason No. 1 ranking, Clemson's preseason perch this year marks the seventh Top 5 preseason ranking in the AP Poll in school history, including 1984 (No. 4), 1988 (4), 2016 (2), 2017 (5), 2018 (2) and 2019 (1). Clemson has now been ranked in the AP Top 25 in the preseason in nine consecutive years, the longest such stretch in school history. The Tigers garnered a Top 25 preseason ranking from the AP in eight consecutive years under three different head coaches across the 1987-94 seasons. New ACC member Notre Dame checked in at No. 10 Monday and North Carolina was ranked 18th. Clemson remained No. 1 in a USA TODAY re-rank of the 76 FBS teams left also on Monday, where Alabama was No. 2, Georgia No. 3 and Oklahoma No. 4. Out of the ACC, Notre Dame (5) and North Carolina (10) were top-10 teams. AP Top 25 preseason 1 Clemson (14-1) 2 ACC 1,520 (38) 2 * Ohio State (13-1) 3 Big Ten 1,504 (21) 3 Alabama (11-2) 8 SEC 1,422 (2) 4 Georgia (12-2) 4 SEC 1,270 5 Oklahoma (12-2) 7 Big 12 1,269 6 LSU (15-0) 1 SEC 1,186 (1) 7 * Penn State (11-2) 9 Big Ten 1,147 8 Florida (11-2) 6 SEC 1,125 9 * Oregon (12-2) 5 Pac-12 1,119 10 Notre Dame (11-2) 12 IA Independents 995 11 Auburn (9-4) 14 SEC 852 12 * Wisconsin (10-4) 11 Big Ten 840 13 Texas A&M (8-5) SEC 764 14 Texas (8-5) 25 Big 12 703 15 Oklahoma State (8-5) Big 12 672 16 * Michigan (9-4) 18 Big Ten 611 17 * USC (8-5) Pac-12 534 18 North Carolina (7-6) ACC 496 19 * Minnesota (11-2) 10 Big Ten 451 20 Cincinnati (11-3) 21 American Athletic 234 21 UCF (10-3) 24 American Athletic 229 22 * Utah (11-3) 16 Pac-12 211 23 Iowa State (7-6) Big 12 199 24 * Iowa (10-3) 15 Big Ten 134 25 Tennessee (8-5) SEC 133 Others receiving votes: Memphis 86, Virginia Tech 85, Boise State 68, Arizona State 66, Miami (FL) 42, Louisville 32, Appalachian State 26, Washington 21, Kentucky 20, Indiana 19, Baylor 15, California 11, TCU 9, Virginia 7, Navy 6, Florida State 6, SMU 3, Mississippi State 3, Air Force 3, Northwestern 1, UAB 1 * Season postponed to spring. Not really waiting for Power 5 teams as much as waiting for a meaning full number of games. Announcement forthcoming but as of now targeting Sept. 14 for the first regular season poll since Labor Day now has a week zero vibe. https://t.co/k1QsfZ7r2b
Not many people already think of Dabo Swinney as an all-time great coach, but he's now had a team ranked No. 1 in the AP poll in 6 consecutive seasons. Since the poll began in 1936, only Nick Saban has a longer streak (12 through 2019).
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