With the start of the 2023 college football campaign almost upon us, ESPN stacked up who it sees as the top teams in the sport entering the new season.

Clemson landed at No. 9 in ESPN’s preseason CFB power rankings, two spots behind ACC foe Florida State at No. 7.

ESPN’s Andrea Adelson broke down the best- and worst-case scenarios for the Tigers this season, citing a return to the College Football Playoff as the former.

Last season, Clemson (11-3, 9-0 ACC) claimed its seventh conference title in eight seasons but missed the CFP for the second year in a row.

“We all know what Clemson is capable of when its offense is hitting just right, so it stands to reason that with a new offensive coordinator and better quarterback/receiver play, the Tigers will be back in the College Football Playoff,” Adelson wrote. “That should always be the highest ceiling for a program that reached that level six straight years from 2015 to 2020. There will be ample opportunities for the Tigers to prove themselves, with games against Florida State, Notre Dame and South Carolina among the biggest. That South Carolina game has taken on even greater meaning this season considering how that loss affected 2022.

“The defense should be outstanding with another strong front and the best linebacker duo in the nation in Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Barrett Carter. If Garrett Riley can get Cade Klubnik and company to produce the type of offensive numbers we are used to seeing out of Clemson, this will be a playoff team.”

As for the other end of the spectrum, Adelson pointed to fewer than 10 wins as the worst-cast scenario for a Clemson team that has racked up double-digit victories in each of the last 12 years, though Adelson isn’t expecting the Tigers to slip below the 10-win threshold.

“This team has won at least 10 games for 12 straight years, so it is hard to imagine any floor that goes lower than 10 wins,” Adelson wrote. “But there is some degree of difficulty involved in this schedule, with road games against NC State (Clemson lost here in 2021) and South Carolina and home games against preseason-ranked Florida State, Notre Dame (Clemson lost at South Bend last year) and North Carolina. Clemson should still be favored to win all or nearly all these games.

“Still, there have been unexpected losses over the past two seasons, so it would no longer be a surprise if a low-floor season meant no playoff appearance. The more surprising low floor would be a nine-win season. Given the strength of the team returning, Clemson should win at least 10 games yet again.”

As it did in ESPN’s preseason power rankings, Clemson came in at No. 9 in both the preseason AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll.

The Tigers kick off the 2023 season at Duke on Monday, Sept. 4 (8 p.m., ESPN).

North Carolina (No. 19) is the only ACC team besides Clemson and FSU that cracked ESPN’s preseason power rankings.

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