Clemson Ranked No. 2 in First College Football Playoff Poll

Clemson, S.C.—Clemson is ranked second in the first College Football Playoff Poll. The 12-person committee released its first rankings of the season on Tuesday evening.

Alabama, who defeated Clemson in the National Championship Game last season 45-40, is rated first. Clemson, who enters this weekend’s game with Syracuse with an 8-0 record, is ranked second. Undefeated Michigan is third and Texas A&M is fourth. Undefeated Washington is fifth, Ohio State is sixth and Louisville is seventh. Wisconsin is ranked eighth, Auburn ninth and Nebraska 10th.

Clemson and Michigan are the only teams with three wins over teams currently in the top 25 of the College Football Playoff Poll. The Tigers have beaten No 7 Louisville, No. 9 Auburn and No. 22 Florida State. The Auburn and Florida State wins came on the road. Clemson’s strength of schedule according to the NCAA, is ranked third in the nation. Clemson is ranked third in the Associated Press Poll and Amway Coaches Poll.

“We are proud to be ranked in the top four of first College Football Playoff Poll, but it really doesn’t matter much at this stage,” said head Coach Dabo Swinney. “We just need to take care of business and concentrate on winning on Saturday against Syracuse. The last poll in the month of November and the final poll after the conference championship games in December are the ones that matter most.”

Clemson was ranked No. 1 in all six College Football Playoff Polls last season when the Tigers ran to a 13-0 record over the regular season and the ACC Championship. Clemson was seeded No. 1 for the College Football Playoff and defeated Oklahoma in the semifinals 37-17 in the Orange Bowl. Clemson has been ranked in the top 25 of all 14 College Football Playoff Polls over the three years of the system.

College Football Playoff Poll for November 1, 2016

Alabama, 2. Clemson, 3. Michigan, 4. Texas A&M, 5. Washington, 6. Ohio State, 7. Louisville, 8. Wisconsin, 9. Auburn, 10. Nebraska, 11. Florida, 12. Penn State, 13. LSU, 14. Oklahoma, 15. Colorado, 16. Utah, 17. Baylor, 18. Oklahoma State, 19. Virginia Tech, 20. West Virginia, 21. North Carolina, 22. Florida State, 23. Western Michigan, 24. Boise State, 25. Washington State.