Saturday night was eye-opening. While there was plenty of time to get over it during Labor Day Weekend, the Clemson Tigers have dug themselves into a hole after getting blown out by the then-No. 11 LSU Tigers, 51-10. It was a total referendum on the decadent decline of the Dabo Swinney era. After being the first team to miss the cut in Week 1, Clemson will not be a top-25 team during Week 2.
Here is what the AP Top 25 Poll could look like heading into the second week of the 2026-27 season.
- Ohio State Buckeyes (1)
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4)
- Georgia Bulldogs (3)
- Texas Longhorns (5)
- Indiana Hoosiers (6)
- Miami Hurricanes (7)
- Ole Miss Rebels (9)
- Oregon Ducks (2)
- Texas A&M Aggies (8)
- LSU Tigers (11)
- Oklahoma Sooners (10)
- Texas Tech Red Raiders (12)
- Alabama Crimson Tide (13)
- USC Trojans (T-14)
- BYU Cougars (T-14)
- Washington Cougars (17)
- Penn State Nittany Lions (18)
- SMU Mustangs (19)*
- Tennessee Volunteers (20)
- Utah Utes (21)
- Iowa Hawkeyes (22)
- Houston Cougars (23)
- Missouri Tigers (25)
- Michigan Wolverines (16)
- Louisville Cardinals (24)
* = No. 19 SMU Mustangs still have to play at the Florida State Seminoles on Labor Day evening.
Clemson, Michigan, Oregon projected to stumble in latest AP Top 25 Poll
While LSU does move up one spot from No. 11 to No. 10 following Clemson's worst loss in years, this week's AP Top 25 projections are all about how far the Oregon Ducks and the Michigan Wolverines will fall after their close calls during Week 1. Oregon will not be the No. 2 team in the nation this week after being pushed around by Group of Six contender Boise State. The Ducks could drop six spots.
As for Michigan, the Wolverines should have lost in Kyle Whittingham's debut to reigning MAC champion Western Michigan. If not for a controversial clock ruling, Michigan would have easily fallen out of the top 25 altogether in defeat. The only reason the Wolverines may not drop out of the top 25 entirely is because Louisville lost a barn burner to Ole Miss in Nashville. Michigan may fall eight spots.
For teams moving up, Notre Dame could improve two spots to No. 2 by handling lowly Wisconsin at Lambeau Field. Georgia, Texas, Indiana, and Miami should all take advantage of Oregon looking lost at times versus Boise State. LSU and Ole Miss should rise up ever so slightly for beating their ACC opponents on opening weekend. The rest of top 25's order may stay the same, but shifted up a spot.
As for what this means for Clemson, it will be interesting to see how many votes Swinney's Tigers get. Surely, it will be far less than the 112 they got coming into the season. Frankly, we might be lucky to see them in single digits after Saturday night's meltdown in Baton Rouge. Look for teams like Florida, Arizona, and potentially Auburn to be on the cusp of being ranked this week. They are all trending up.
Right now, the only way Clemson gets back into being ranked is by winning its next three ballgames.
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