The Clemson football team is considered one of the top competitors for the National Championship in 2021, but that doesn’t mean the Tigers don’t have some doubters or unanswered questions.
Clemson will have a new quarterback at the helm in former 5-star D.J. Uiagalelei, but there are questions about the ability of the offensive line, how the Tigers might replace RB Travis Etienne and what the defense will look like after the unit was absolutely blown off the field by Ohio State in the CFB Playoff semifinals this past January.
Still, no one can deny that the Tigers are an elite program and a team that has the ability to be in contention for a spot in the CFB Playoff for yet another season.
ESPN released its preseason FPI rankings for the upcoming season and had Clemson football ranked behind Oklahoma
Here’s a look at the top-10 for ESPN’s preseason FPI rankings:
- Alabama
- Oklahoma
- Clemson
- Iowa State
- Ohio State
- Texas A&M
- Georgia
- Mississippi State
- Oklahoma State
- Penn State
For those that don’t remember or haven’t ever heard, here’s ESPN’s explanation for the FPI rankings:
"The Football Power Index (FPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule."
Can you really make the argument that Oklahoma should be ranked ahead of Clemson? Yes, the Sooners return QB Spencer Rattler and they’ve got one of the top wide receiver groups in the country. That offensive line isn’t bad, either. But this was a team that lost two games last year and are only getting credit because they blew out a depleted Florida team in a meaningless bowl game.
And yet they deserve to be ranked ahead of Clemson football- or even Ohio State, for that matter- simply because they return a quarterback who we all know is great, but is he really going to be better than Uiagalelei?
It’s not just the ridiculousness of having Oklahoma ranked No. 2, though. Look at the top-10.
These FPI rankings continue to be steered and bias towards the SEC. What has Mississippi State done to even be considered inside the top-20, much less to be the No. 8 team in the country? Everyone is always high on Texas A&M, but the FPI has the Aggies at No. 6. Does that really seem right? No.
Iowa State is going to be good this season, no doubt, but what have the Cyclones done to prove they’re worthy of a top-4 spot? Why would Penn State be ranked inside the top-10?
There are more questions when looking at these rankings than answers. The FPI clearly gives bonuses to SEC teams and though it’s supposed to be based off of simulations, it never ceases to give stunningly biased numbers towards that conference, in particular.