The Clemson Tigers are the No. 1 ranked team in the Associated Press’ preseason Top 25 for the first time in school history. Although Clemson has won three national championships, this is the first time the program has been named the top team coming into the following season.
BREAKING: Clemson ranked No. 1 in preseason AP Top 25 for first time; Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ohio State round out the top five in the poll, presented by @askRegions: https://t.co/DWCBw9xytP pic.twitter.com/vwevmx9hfy
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) August 19, 2019
The Tigers won their first national championship in 1981, but they were ranked No. 11 going into the 1982 season, and they were ranked No. 5 going into the 2017 campaign after winning the 2016 CFP National Championship. Clemson fans rightly felt begrudged in each of those subsequent seasons, especially since they did finish the year ranked higher than where they started in both of those campaigns. However, everyone is high on Clemson going into 2019.
Although the Tigers no longer have the best defensive line in the country, they do have the best young quarterback we’ve seen in some time. Trevor Lawrence is already a pro-ready prospect, and Clemson’s hopes rest on him this season. He is the reason why Clemson is a heavy favorite to win the ACC despite losing so much talent, as this offense is going to remain one of the best in the country.
College football's AP preseason poll is out:
1. Clemson
2. Alabama
3. Georgia
4. Oklahoma
5. Ohio State
6. LSU
7. Michigan
8. Florida
9. Notre Dame
10. Texas— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 19, 2019
A familiar set of teams fill out the top ten, and a total of four SEC teams are ranked in the top eight. Incredibly, of the top eight teams, all but Clemson are helmed by a quarterback that originally signed with an SEC school.
Speaking of the SEC, South Carolina and Texas A&M have some of the most daunting schedules we’ve seen in the sport now that the rankings have been released. Both programs play Clemson, Alabama, and Georgia this season.
Only one school outside of the Power Five conferences was ranked in the Top 25. UCF begins the year at No. 17 after finishing each of the last two regular seasons undefeated.
H/T AP
