LEADING THE PACK
Clemson tops AP poll in a season filled with drama, uncertainty
Clemson is preseason No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25, a poll featuring nine Big Ten and Pac-12 teams that gives a glimpse at what’s already been taken from an uncertain college football fall by the pandemic.
Ohio State was a close No. 2 to Trevor Lawrence and Clemson, which starts atop the rankings for the second straight season. But the 85th edition of the AP rankings will be like none before.
When the season starts — if the season starts — the Buckeyes and 52 other FBS teams will no longer be eligible for inclusion in the Top 25 because they have postponed their seasons to the spring.
Alabama is No. 3, Southeastern Conference rival Georgia is No. 4 and defending Big 12 champion Oklahoma is No. 5. Defending national champion LSU is No. 6.
The Big Ten, where Ohio State and No. 7 Penn State play, and Pac-12, home to No. 9 Oregon, canceled their fall sports season because of concerns about COVID-19. The Mid-American and Mountain West conferences have also said they will try to play spring football.
Meanwhile, the SEC, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12, American Athletic, Conference USA and Sun Belt are forging forward on the fall. The three remaining Power Five conferences, the SEC, ACC, and Big 12, have eliminated all or most of their nonconference games and delayed the start of their seasons from one to three weeks.
Erased from the college football schedule this year were a host of tantalizing early season nonconference matchups: Ohio State at No. 9 Oregon; No. 10 Notre Dame vs. No. 12 Wisconsin at Lambeau field in Green Bay; No. 14 Texas at LSU; No. 17 Southern California vs. Alabama at AT&T Field in Arlington, Texas; No. 11 Auburn vs. No. 18 North Carolina at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Maybe, some big conference games such Ohio State and No. 16 Michigan can still be made up in the spring.
Because nothing seems to be guaranteed in sports these days, the AP instructed its voters that all Division I teams were eligible for the preseason Top 25, but after the season starts, only teams scheduled to play in the fall are eligible. As of now, that leaves 77 FBS teams from which to choose.
If a spring season is played, the AP will consider doing rankings for those teams, too.
BACK-TO-BACK
Clemson of the ACC had never been preseason No. 1 until last season, and now starts there again. It’s the eighth time since the preseason started in 1950 that a team has been preseason No. 1 two straight seasons. Alabama had been preseason No. 1 the last three years.
The Tigers finished last season No. 2 after losing the College Football Playoff championship game to LSU, snapping a remarkable run of nine seasons in which Clemson has finished with the same or better ranking than it started. That included the last five seasons in which Clemson outperformed its preseason ranking, twice finishing No. 1 after starting No. 2.
The Tigers, who also welcome back star running back Travis Etienne, standout offensive tackle Jackson Carman and sturdy defensive tackle Tyler Davis, will try to become the 12th preseason No. 1 to finish No. 1. Only two teams have gone wire-to-wire as No. 1: Florida State in 1999 and USC in 2004.
CONFERENCE CALL
The Southeastern Conference, as usual, leads the way with seven teams in the Top 25, including six of the first 13 teams.
The Big Ten is next with six, but when the regular season starts — if everything stays as it is now — No. 6 Penn State, No. 12 Wisconsin, No. 16 Michigan, No. 19 Minnesota and No. 24 Iowa will no longer be eligible for votes.
Same goes with No. 9 Oregon, No. 17 USC and No. 22 Utah out of the Pac-12.
SEC: 7 (Nos. 3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 25).
Big Ten: 6 (Nos. 2, 7, 12, 16, 19, 24). Big 12: 4 (Nos. 5, 14, 15, 23).
ACC: 3 (Nos. 1, 10, 18). Pac-12:3 (Nos. 9, 17, 22). American: 2 (Nos. 20, 21).