Earlier in the week, we all found out what the AP voters think of the Clemson Tigers. Despite getting 112 points, that was still not enough to crack the top 25. The Missouri Tigers edged Dabo Swinney's team out by measly a five points... While Clemson will not get an opportunity to play those other Tigers during the regular season, they should have a bone to pick with the AP for getting snubbed.
Of course, nobody is going to bang their chest for Clemson to be ranked if they do not look the part vs. the No. 11 LSU Tigers over Labor Day Weekend. However, Clemson has the right to feel miffed a bit over the Associated Press passing on the Tigers 25 times to start this season. This is the first time in 15 years that Clemson did not start the season out ranked. Let's hope that trend ends in 2027.
Here are five teams who got way more love than they should have from the AP voters over Clemson.
Houston Cougars are more of an idea than a serious playoff contender
Willie Fritz may be an excellent head coach, but do you really trust the Houston Cougars to make some noise in the chaotic Big 12? U of H won 10 games a year ago. That was a huge improvement from their 4-8 campaign in 2024. However, the nanosecond people started to believe this could be a Big 12 title bout sleeper, they caved right in front of us. It comes with the Conner Weigman territory.
Even if Keisean Henderson overtakes Weigman as the starting quarterback, it is hard to view Houston as anything more than the fourth best team in the Big 12. So once again, the Cougars will be a fringe conference title bout contender. Given that the Big 12 has never sent multiple teams into the playoffs before, why start now? Clemson has made them seven times before, including as a 9-3 team in 2025.
This ultimately comes down to if you believe the Big 12's fourth best team is better than Clemson.
Iowa Hawkeyes keep being propped up as the Imitation Steelers they are
In time, the exhausting Kirk Ferentz era of Iowa Hawkeyes football will come to an end. How do we know this? Well, if the Pittsburgh Steelers can move on from Mike Tomlin well over a decade after him winning a Super Bowl, then the Imitation Steelers can pivot off the longest-tenured head coach in college football after another eight-win season. This has to end soon, so let's stop gassing up Iowa.
Almost out of habit, Iowa typically cracks the top 25 to start the year because of the hall-of-fame career Ferentz has put forth. Rather than party like it's 1999, let's look at the situation at hand. Iowa continues to bring offensive football back into the dark ages. While Phil Parker is still an excellent defensive coordinator, Ferentz's heir apparent LeVar Woods left to go coach at lowly Michigan State.
If AP voters believe that Clemson has gotten stale, then why are they putting Iowa on their ballots?
Louisville Cardinals have to play some defense to ever be taken seriously
Admittedly, there shouldn't be too much vitriol over the Louisville Cardinals being ranked. They are one of the four best bets to come out of the ACC this season. Miami, SMU, Louisville, and Clemson should all be ranked. That being said, Jeff Brohm's team is the only one in this quartet who hasn't made the playoffs before. Clemson, Miami, and SMU have all represented the ACC in the new format.
Where Clemson fans may have an issue with Louisville being ranked instead of the Tigers has everything to do with the style of play Brohm's team implements. Offensively, Louisville is as fun of a team to watch from afar in the ACC. However, the Cardinals leave so much to be desired on defense. They epitomize the live by the shootout, die by the shootout mantra. Clemson is way more balanced.
We are splitting hairs a bit, but the Associated Press liking Louisville a bit more than Clemson stings.
Missouri Tigers never live up to expectations when you need them to
Of course, the Missouri Tigers were going to be brought up on this list! They are in, Clemson is not, and we're still mad about it! Let's be real. There is a team like Mizzou in every Power Four conference. Whenever you expect nothing out of them, they show up. However, whenever you put the slightest bit of pressure on them, they collapse before your very eyes. The ACC equivalent of Mizzou is NC State.
Even though Eliah Drinkwitz has proven to be a strong head coach for them, there are easily seven teams in the SEC we should trust more to contend for the playoffs than them. Georgia and Texas feel like locks, while Alabama, LSU, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M all feel like more viable options than them. And we are not even including the idea of Tennessee either... What are we doing here?
Missouri may end up winning more games than Clemson because it will beat up on unranked teams.
Tennessee Volunteers are being buoyed by the fact they play in the SEC
For those who want to back the Tennessee Volunteers, it should come down to one thing, and one thing only: Do you believe true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon is special? If you do, then by all means, have Tennessee firmly ranked inside of the top 20. If not, then be prepared to live in a world where this could potentially be Josh Heupel's last year coaching in Knoxville. That is where we're at.
What is the most frustrating part about this era of Tennessee football is the Vols rarely go from good to great under Heupel's leadership. His gimmicky Air Raid schtick on offense does raise the floor a bit. However, it is a scheme that savvy defensive minds can regularly stop when the season is on the line. The fact he has already run one great defensive coordinator out of town in Tim Banks is not ideal.
If Tennessee was not an SEC team, the Vols would have business being ranked instead of Clemson.
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