ESPN released its latest college football power rankings this week following Week 2 of the season.
After struggling in last Saturday’s 27-16 win over Troy, Clemson tumbled down seven spots to No. 16 in ESPN’s updated power rankings.
It continues a big fall for the Tigers, who were No. 9 in ESPN’s power rankings after their Week 1 loss to LSU, and No. 3 in ESPN’s preseason power rankings.
“The Tigers’ offense continued to look lost in Week 2 against Troy, falling behind 16-3 in the first half before engineering a strong second-half comeback,” ESPN wrote. “If the Tigers are looking for a silver lining, the second half at least offered a few. Cade Klubnik completed 8 of 9 passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns. Adam Randall carried 15 times for 91 yards. The defense didn’t surrender a point. Still, if things look this disjointed against Troy, a road trip to Georgia Tech in Week 3 could be incredibly dangerous.”
Ohio State stayed put at No. 1 in ESPN’s latest power rankings, while LSU moved up one spot to No. 2. Miami is the highest-ranked ACC team and remained at No. 5, behind Oregon at No. 4 and Penn State at No. 3.
Florida State, which travels to Clemson on Nov. 8, slid up four spots to No. 9 following a 77-3 win over East Texas A&M.
Former Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables’ Oklahoma team vaulted up from No. 23 to No. 11 after a big win over Michigan, which was previously No. 14 in ESPN’s power rankings.
Meanwhile, South Carolina dropped four spots to No. 14 after a slow start in an eventual 38-10 win over South Carolina State.
Clemson, which is now ranked No. 12 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll and No. 11 in the latest Coaches Poll, will make its road debut when the Tigers open ACC play against Georgia Tech in Atlanta this Saturday (12 p.m., ESPN).