Search Shop
Announce
Aug 20, 2018

Clemson Opens at No. 2 in AP Preseason Poll

CLEMSON, S.C. — The Clemson Tigers will enter the 2018 football season ranked No. 2 in the nation, according to the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 poll released on Monday. The No. 2 ranking matches the team’s spot in the initial USA Today Coaches Poll released on Aug. 2.

The No. 2 ranking equals the program’s highest preseason ranking in the AP Poll all-time, matching the preseason ranking awarded to the squad that earned the school’s second national championship in 2016. It marks the fifth Top 5 preseason ranking in the AP Poll in school history, including 1984 (No. 4), 1988 (4), 2016 (2) and 2017 (5).

Clemson has now been ranked in the AP Top 25 in the preseason in seven consecutive years, the second-longest such stretch in school history. The Tigers garnered a Top 25 preseason ranking from the AP in eight consecutive years under three different head coaches across the 1987-94 seasons.

Under Head Coach Dabo Swinney, Clemson has met or exceeded its preseason ranking in the final AP poll in each of the last seven seasons. Swinney’s seven-year streak is the longest by a coach in college football history, exceeding five-year streaks by Ohio State’s John Cooper and Kansas State’s Bill Snyder. The only time in the last seven years that Clemson did not exceed its preseason ranking was 2013, when the Tigers both opened and concluded the year at No. 8.

YearPreseason Rank
(AP Poll)
Postseason Rank
(AP Poll)
2011NR22
20121411
201388
20141615
2015122
201621
201754
201821
201912
20201TBD

Clemson opens the season at home against Furman on Saturday, Sept. 1. A select number of single-game tickets for the 2018 season remain available by visiting ClemsonTigers.com or calling 1-800 CLEMSON.

share