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Will Clemson Football finish the season higher than their No. 5 ranking?

By Anthony Messenger

TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 09: Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers speaks during a press conference after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide 35-31 to win the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium on January 9, 2017 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 09: Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers speaks during a press conference after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide 35-31 to win the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium on January 9, 2017 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images) /
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The Clemson football program has finished the season ranked higher than their preseason ranking for six consecutive years. With mass losses on both sides of the ball entering 2017, can the Tigers extend the streak to seven years?

Early on in Dabo Swinney’s tenure, Clemson football had the luxury of being underestimated. The Tigers’ consistently won games in which they came in perceived as underdogs. This gave them a bump in the eyes of voters.

The talent has been there in Death Valley for some time now, the only difference entering 2017 is the fact that Clemson isn’t a secret anymore. Everyone is privy to the powerhouse that is the Clemson Tigers.

Will Clemson finish the 2017 season ranked higher than their preseason No. 5 ranking?

Being as though the Tigers come into the season ranked in the top 5, it will be extremely difficult to improve upon that ranking.

Clemson would have to make it into the College Football Playoff for the third straight season to even have a chance at finishing the season ranked inside the top four. In order to do this, the Tigers must go nearly undefeated.

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Not only must Clemson replace Deshaun Watson and Ben Boulware, but, they face a schedule featuring the likes of Auburn, Virginia Tech, NC State and Florida State. Against those odds, it will be difficult to make the playoff. The Tigers could sneak in with one loss, but, two losses almost certainly leaves Clemson out of the playoff picture.

I am not suggesting that Clemson has no shot at finishing the season ranked higher than No. 5, it is certainly possible. That being said finishing the season ranked lower than No. 5 would not be a failure, considering what it would take to place in the top four.

Next: Clemson 2017: Stars of fall camp

At the end of the day rankings are no longer the focus of this program. Once you win a National Championship the challenge is getting back to the National Championship. It’s tough to admit but at programs such as Alabama, Florida State and Ohio State the culture is championship or bust; they are not competing for rankings. Clemson has reached that point as a program.

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