ESPN recently released their 2022 College Football Power Index (FPI) ranking and Clemson football came in at fourth.
Ahead of the Tigers were familiar names, Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia, with Notre Dame coming in a distant fifth.
I shouldn’t be surprised, as the FPI had the Tigers ranked much higher than polls and various power ratings last season, but this ranking seems a little off to me considering Clemson’s struggles during the 2021 season.
On the other hand, theoretically this is an unbiased, emotionless algorithm and the Tigers have the nation’s longest Power 5 winning streak at 6 games and an argument could be made that they were very close to winning 12 games last season.
From my perspective, looking at Clemson critically, it’s difficult to justify this team as the fourth best in the nation, that is, without context.
The struggles along the offensive line, at the quarterback position and the lack of a true playmaker at wide receiver make the offense a question mark headed into the season.
I believe the defense will be elite and will keep the Tigers in every game, much as the 2021 unit did.
Adding context , which teams would you place above Clemson in this index? A Notre Dame team that barely beat Florida State, Toledo and Virginia Tech before losing to Oklahoma State? A Texas team that’s been “back” for years? An Oklahoma team that had 10 transfers with a first time head coach?
In a vacuum fourth seems ridiculous, but when you add context it seems a bit more plausible, if not completely understandable.
If Clemson can win 10 games in a year where the quarterback throws more interceptions than touchdowns, where injuries seemingly wipe out position groups en masse, what are the possibilities if Clemson remains semi-healthy?
These are the questions we ponder every year this time of year, at least since 2015.
Really, these numbers in April are just offseason fodder. Topics for discussion and argument and theories and the “what ifs” that give almost every fan base hope this time of year.
That’s the great thing about college football, you never know what will happen and just when you think you know, you don’t know.
As I once told my wife when she asked why I loved college football so much, “It’s the world’s greatest reality show and you never know what will happen.”
Indeed.