Updated ESPN Top 25 moves Clemson, more ACC teams up |
Clemson was among the ACC teams making moves
in the latest preseason ESPN Top 25 rankings.
Dabo Swinney's Tigers moved up three spots to No. 16, which still trails Florida State and NC State from the ACC. The Seminoles jumped four spots to No. 11 and the Wolfpack vaulted five spots to No. 13. "As my colleague David Hale pointed out, there were four FBS teams that didn't take a transfer from the portal this offseason: Air Force, Army, Navy and Clemson. Transferring into one of the service academies requires the intervention of a member of the U.S. Congress. For whatever reason, transferring to Clemson seems to be even more difficult these days," ESPN's Mark Schlabach wrote. "After the Tigers dropped four games for the first time since 2011 and finished 52nd in the FBS in scoring offense (29.8 points per game), it seemed like a good time to bring in experienced help. It didn't happen. There's no question Clemson's defense is going to be one of the best in the FBS with linemen Peter Woods and T.J. Parker leading the way. "Clemson coach Dabo Swinney is betting that quarterback Cade Klubnik is going to be much better in his second season under offensive coordinator Garrett Riley. Freshman receiver Bryant Wesco looked great in the spring, and four-star T.J. Moore joins the team later this month." Miami remained at No. 24, while Virginia Tech moved from unranked to No. 21, and Louisville dropped out. The only change in the top four is Texas flipping with Oregon for the third spot, with Georgia and Ohio State still Nos. 1 and 2. Projecting out from the new Top 25, the 12-team Playoff would be Georgia, Ohio State, Utah, Florida State, Texas, Oregon, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Alabama, Missouri, Michigan and Boise State (first listed among Group of Five champs missing the Top 25).
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