Clemson Football: Tigers fall outside of top 10 in AP Poll

After what transpired Saturday evening in South Bend, Indiana Clemson football was expected to fall precipitously in the AP Poll and that’s what came to fruition Sunday afternoon.

The previously 5th-ranked Tigers dropped all the way to number 12 in the latest edition of the rankings.

Georgia garnered 62 of 63 first-place votes and a near-unanimous No. 1, followed by Ohio State, Michigan, TCU and Tennessee in the top 5.

The second half of the top 10 is Oregon, LSU, USC, UCLA and Alabama, meaning two 2 loss teams, both from the SEC, are in the top 10.

The second ten is Ole Miss, Clemson, Utah, Penn State, North Carolina, Tulane, North Carolina State, Texas, Liberty and Notre Dame.

Rounding out the rankings are Illinois, UCF, Kansas State, Washington and Florida State.

As currently constructed Clemson owns a 2-1 record over top 25 teams with wins over N.C. State and Florida State and a loss to Notre Dame.

Needless to say, the Tigers no longer control their own destiny as the number of undefeated teams fell from 6 to 4 over the weekend.

Despite the loss to Notre Dame, Clemson football secured a spot in the ACC Championship Game

The Tigers did secure the ACC Atlantic Division and a spot in the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte on December 3, but Clemson and their fans have to be disappointed in their performance Saturday night at Notre Dame.

The Irish had struggled at home, losing to Marshall and Stanford, but owned the game from the outset, scoring two non-offensive touchdowns in the process.

The Tigers finish the regular season with three consecutive home games against Louisville, Miami and South Carolina  and are still the owners of the nation’s longest home field winning streak which currently sits at 38 straight games dating back to a November 2016 loss to Pittsburgh.

There is much work to do for the Tigers as 6-3 Louisville visits for a 3:30 p.m. EST game that will be televised by ESPN next Saturday.