Clemson unfazed by its continuing slide in polls

Tigers still unbeaten but have slipped from No. 1 to No. 4

CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson keeps winning but has dropped from first to fourth in the AP poll. But its coaches and players don’t seem bothered in the least.

“We think it’s cute,” safety K’Von Wallace said.

The defending national champions are 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. They started the season at No. 1 and are riding a programbest 22-game winning streak.

But a too-close-for-comfort 21-20 win at North Carolina on Sept. 28 began a slide from the top that has them No. 4 this week behind Alabama, LSU and Ohio State.

Following the North Carolina escape, the Tigers roared back with wins over Florida State (45-14) and Louisville (45-10) the last two weeks. Still, that didn’t stop the slippage in the Top 25.

Co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott says the joke around the team is that if Clemson continues to win at this rate “we’ll be out of the top 10 by December.”

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has never been about rankings or records until the end — when he wants the Tigers in the final four for the College Football Playoffs.

“Everybody can have any opinions they want,” he said. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is us closing out October in a strong way.

“We want to win this division and win this league. What happens after that, hopefully, we’ll be positioned well.”

Clemson returns home this week for a game with Boston College (4-3, 2-2) on Saturday night.

The Tigers have made their share of mistakes — quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw two first-half interceptions before leading Clemson’s blowout — but except for the scare at North Carolina they have recovered in time to win handily.

Clemson football under Swinney has routinely been a slow simmer, gradually learning from midseason mistakes and playing its best at the end. The Tigers started 9-0 in 2016 before a mid-November loss to Pitt looked as if like it might harm their playoff chances.

Instead, they won three straight to capture the ACC title and earn a two seed from the CFP committee.

Clemson then defeated Ohio State and Alabama for its first national crown in 35 years.

The Tigers were the No. 2 seed in the playoff last year, too, on the way to their latest national championship.

“What we know is that we’ve been here before,” Scott said.

“We trust our plan. We trust our preparation in that if we just stay focused and locked in and keep two hands on the wheel” success will follow.