You hear it or read about it all the time. Fans say the preseason polls don’t matter. Coaches say it is all about how you finish, not how you start.

But let’s look at this way, especially if you are a Clemson fan. Isn’t it cool that your team has the No. 2 next its name instead of nothing at all?

Go ask your friends down in Columbia if they want to trade.

Though the Associated Press Preseason Poll may not mean anything to you, it means a lot to Clemson. For the first time in history, the Tigers are ranked No. 2 in the preseason polls that matter. The USA Today Coaches Poll ranked Clemson No. 2 a few weeks back as well.

Until the College Football Playoff Poll comes out in late October, these are the only two polls that count. Also, keep this in mind, all three polls hand out separate hardware at the end of the year to recognize the national champion. They are the only three polls that do that.

Is it not better to start at No. 2 then say at No. 25 or not ranked at all? In this day and age of “What have you done for lately,” starting off at No. 2 almost guarantees the Tigers a playoff spot as long as they do what is expected.

“Win and you are in,” as Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney always likes to say. If the Tigers win all 12 games and the ACC Championship game, there will be no debating or worrying about this or that. That’s what starting the year at No. 2 does. It gives you a better opportunity to play for a national championship.

Studies have proven teams generally ranked in the top 15 likely have a better chance of winning a national championship than teams that are below 15 or not ranked at all.  Yes, it has happened, but not often.

An unranked Auburn team in 2010 came out of nowhere and won the national championship, but before that, no team had done it since Clemson’s national championship run in 1981.

Sunday marked just the third time in Clemson football history a Tigers’ team will start the season ranked inside the top 5. The last time it happened was in 1988 when Danny Ford’s Tigers were No. 4. His 1984 team was also ranked No. 4.

It has taken Clemson nearly 30 years to get back to this lofty status. In other words, it doesn’t happen very often so enjoy it, and understand that in some way, it does matter.