The College Football Playoff Selection Committee gave everyone plenty to chew on with their initial top 25 rankings. While Clemson was obviously not among the teams ranked this week, one of their upcoming opponents easily cracked the top 25: arch rival South Carolina. While Shane Beamer's Gamecocks are 5-3 on the season, they have caught fire of late to be ranked No. 21 overall to start.
Here is what the first College Football Playoff rankings looked like after Tuesday night's big reveal.
- Miami Hurricanes (8-0)
- Georgia Bulldogs (7-1)
- Utah Utes (8-0)
- Indiana Hoosiers (8-1)
- Alabama Crimson Tide (6-2)
- Kentucky Wildcats (7-1)
- Texas Longhorns (6-2)
- UCLA Bruins (8-0)
- BYU Cougars (7-1)
- Ole Miss Rebels (6-2)
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-1)
- Ohio State Buckeyes (6-2)
- Tennessee Volunteers (6-2)
- LSU Tigers (6-2)
- Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-1)
- Wake Forest Demon Deacons (7-1)
- Houston Cougars (6-2)
- Missouri Tigers (6-2)
- Iowa Hawkeyes (6-2)
- USC Trojans (7-2)
- South Carolina Gamecocks (5-3)
- Arizona Wildcats (6-2)
- Oregon Ducks (5-3)
- Florida Gators (5-3)
- Boise State Broncos (7-1)
There is a non-zero chance that Clemson may play another ranked opponent later this year in Duke, but South Carolina is the one to watch. The Gamecocks' five wins on are over Kent State, Towson, Florida, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. The Florida and Tennessee wins are over ranked teams. They also have losses to Mississippi State, Alabama, and Kentucky, with the latter two being top-six teams.
With who South Carolina plays the next two weeks, the Gamecocks will likely remain a top-25 fixture.
This year's Palmetto Bowl could potentially feature a pair of ranked teams
Follow along with this. South Carolina is going to be favored over its next two opponents, Texas A&M and Arkansas. The Aggies will go to Columbia before the Gamecocks head over to Fayetteville. Assuming they are 7-3 heading into the penultimate week of the season, the Gamecocks might climb high enough to not fully drop out of the top 25 with a loss to No. 2 Georgia. That game is in Columbia.
While an 8-3 South Carolina team will certainly be ranked, probably among the first four out, a 7-4 South Carolina team may still have enough equity with the Selection Committee to stay in the top 25. This would assume SEC teams it has played in Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, and Tennessee continue to look the part. Not all will, but expect two of them to likely remain in the playoff mix until the end.
For as crazy as it is to think that a 7-4 South Carolina team could still be ranked, we should not rule out the idea of Clemson being ranked at 8-3 coming into the Palmetto Bowl either. They are currently favored over Syracuse, and will almost certainly be favored over Georgia Tech in two weeks. If Duke is ranked, or near enough, heading into the penultimate week of the year, Clemson might leapfrog them.
Almost unbelievably, we could potentially be looking at 8-3 Clemson hosting either an 8-3 or 7-4 South Carolina squad in the Palmetto Bowl, where both bitter rivals are ranked inside the top 25. To be fair, Clemson may not get any higher than No. 23 by the time rivalry week comes around. Again, South Carolina may be a top-16 team heading into this matchup, especially if the Gamecocks beat Georgia.
For as wild as the first College Football Playoff rankings were, we still have four more of these left.
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