Clemson Football: ESPN projects Alabama-Clemson part III
ESPN recently released their Week 6 College Football Bowl Projections. Clemson football is projected to square off with Alabama in the National Championship for the third straight season.
ESPN writers, Kyle Bonagura and David Hale both projected an Alabama-Clemson National Championship. At this point in the season, I can’t see how you’d project anything different. Clemson and Alabama are playing in an entirely different stratosphere than the rest of the country.
Returning to the National Championship would be especially impressive for Clemson. Over the offseason many questioned whether the Tigers could maintain their elite level of play without Deshaun Watson. Through the first six weeks of the season the answer has been a resounding yes.
Clemson and Alabama have a chance to be the first two programs to face-off in the National Championship for three consecutive seasons.
Other notable projections
TCU, Penn State and Washington were all listed in at least one College Football Playoff projection. For the Huskies, it would mark their second straight trip to the playoff.
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TCU and Penn State have both been scorned by the committee in recent years. In the inaugural season of the College Football Playoff format, TCU (11-1) was left out in favor of Ohio State, who went on to win the National Championship. Penn State (10-2) was also left out in favor of the Buckeyes this past season.
The first edition of the 2017 College Football Playoff rankings are set to be released on October, 31st. At the moment, Alabama and Clemson are near locks for the top four.
Georgia has a good chance at finding their way into the top four of the initial rankings as well. With contests versus Missouri and Florida, the Dawgs are in good position to remain undefeated by the time October 31st rolls around.
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There’s a host of other programs vying for the fourth spot in the initial rankings. TCU, Washington, Washington State, Penn State and Ohio State are all in good position. Luckily for the committee, there is plenty of time between now and the final edition of the 2017 College Football Playoff rankings. Time that will surely knock more than a few of these programs out of contention.