Clemson Football: Why dropping in rankings will help the Tigers
The Clemson football team moved out of the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll, but that certainly wasn’t a bad thing for the Tigers.
Who cares about rankings in September and October? Who cares if Clemson football is ranked No. 1 in any poll? All that matters is that you’re ranked in the top-four when it matters.
That’s the stance Clemson football fans should be taking towards these early rankings.
At this point, the vast majority of analysts are looking to drop the Tigers from their rankings. In the AP Poll, a voter had the Tigers as low as No. 8 in their poll. Why? Because the Tigers won a game by less than they should have.
You see, the AP Poll is really all about style points. Analysts continue to rank teams high based off of their brand names. We see everyone showing love to Ohio State, despite the fact that the Buckeyes have played absolutely no one to this point. Alabama is the new No. 1 despite Duke being the best team they’ve faced all year. That being said, moving out of the No. 1 spot is probably the best thing that can happen to Clemson football.
For some reason, this program always plays better when there are doubts and when analysts try to discredit them. This Clemson football team needed a wake-up call. Hopefully, the close win and subsequent drop in the polls is enough to provide just that.
This team is young and is still learning. Having something to prove- even if it just perception- will work wonders for them as they progress through the rest of the season.
We won’t be hearing about how Clemson is the unquestioned best team in the nation. Instead, we’re going to hear about how the Tigers are beneficiaries of an easy schedule and aren’t on the same level as last year’s team.
Next. UNC game reminiscent of the past. dark
Look for the Tigers to look different when they play Florida State in a little less than two weeks from now. They’ll have a chip on their shoulder and look to begin making statement victories for the CFB Playoff committee, which will release its first poll at the end of this month.