Ohio State Football: Buckeyes and Tigers top 2 teams
By Alex Austin
5. Clemson
The first four teams on this list are all pretty close together in my opinion. There is a sizable gap between my No. 4 and No. 5 and that is mostly from how Clemson has looked playing inferior opponents.
Is it Clemson’s fault the ACC has only one other team ranked in the top 25, Wake Forest at No. 25? No, I guess not. But scheduling Charlotte, and upcoming Wofford certainly were in the Tigers’ control.
Having a season where Clemson will play more teams not in Division 1 than ranked in the top 25 is a problem.
This team has also had too many close games without the option of even earning a signature win. That puts them at a disadvantage looking forward when every other team has multiple options for signature wins on their schedule.
When the College Football Playoff committee has made clear how important strength of schedule is, it’s hard to see a way this team leaps over another team with multiple top wins.
In order for the Tigers to make the playoffs, they must remain undefeated and have multiple teams above them lose. If Clemson does not have a better record, then I don’t see them getting past one of these other teams.
There you have it, my top five teams through Week 8. But things could get interesting by the end of the regular season.
Next. Big Ten Week 9 predictions, battle in Columbus. dark
Imagine this scenario – Tua isn’t available for Alabama’s game with LSU and the Tigers win, but the Tide wins the remainder of their games. Does SEC bias prevail or does winning a national championship last year have greater sway for a one-loss Alabama or undefeated Clemson? That could make this race very interesting.