Where Clemson Ranks in This CFB Insider’s Preseason AP Poll Ballot
By: Robert MacRae August 6, 2024

The college football season is right around the corner, and that means preseason polls are coming out.

This week, a longtime college football insider released his personal preseason AP Top 25 Poll ballot, giving who he sees as the 25 best teams and not how he thinks they’ll finish the season.

Action Network’s Brett McMurphy has Clemson just inside the top 15 at No. 13.

Here’s what McMurphy had to say about the Tigers (9-4, 4-4 ACC in 2023) entering the upcoming campaign:

Clemson’s program is to the point where last year’s 9-4 record was its worst in 13 seasons. Midway through the year, Dabo Swinney (deservedly) went ballistic on “Tyler from Spartanburg,” who questioned Swinney’s salary and the 4-4 start on his radio show.

“People like you all that you do is … the expectation is greater than the appreciation,” Swinney said.

The streak of double-digit win seasons (12) is kaput, and the Tigers’ record six consecutive playoff berths (2015-20) — not even Bama did that — ended when quarterback Trevor Lawrence went to the NFL.

In that six-year playoff run — that probably seems light years away — the Tigers lost seven games; they’ve lost 11 in the past three seasons.

Last year was especially frustrating. Despite outgaining three of the four teams they lost to, red-zone miscues (a -6 turnover margin) and missed field goals did the Tigers in.

Swinney is confident and optimistic about this season with 14 returning starters, most notably quarterback Cade Klubnik.

It won’t take long for Clemson — and “Tyler from Spartanburg” — to get a read on this season. The Tigers open against likely preseason No. 1 Georgia.

Georgia is ranked No. 2 in McMurphy’s preseason AP Top 25 ballot, behind Oregon at No. 1. Ohio State, Texas and Alabama round out his top five.

Miami (No. 8) is the highest-ranked ACC team in McMurphy’s ballot and the only ACC team in the top 10. Along with Clemson, the other teams from the ACC in McMurphy’s top 25 are Florida State (No. 15) and Virginia Tech (No. 24).

The Tigers play at Florida State on Oct. 5 and at Virginia Tech on Nov. 9. Clemson’s season opener against Georgia in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium is set for Saturday, Aug. 31 (12 p.m., ABC).

The preseason AP Top 25 is scheduled to be released at 12 p.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 12. Clemson checked in at No. 14 in the preseason Coaches Poll released this week.

You can see McMurphy’s full preseason AP Top 25 Poll ballot here: LINK

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