Clemson Returns to Polls

Sept. 18, 2006

Clemson returned to the AP and USA Today Coaches polls on September 17 after a week outside the top 25 after its win at ninth-ranked Florida State. Clemson is ranked 19th by Associated Press and 23rd by USA Today coaches according to the polls released on Sunday, September 17.

That was the second highest ranked team Clemson has defeated on the road in its history. The only win that is ranked higher is the 10-8 victory over eighth ranked North Carolina in 1981.

Clemson was 18th in both polls during the preseason this year and remained in that position after the season opening win against Florida Atlantic. Clemson dropped to 26th in the poll points in AP and 27th in USA Today after the overtime loss to Boston College.

The Tigers jumped from unranked to 19th by AP after the 27-20 win at ninth ranked Florida State on September 16. That was the biggest jump from being unranked to a spot in the polls since the 2001 season when unranked Clemson won at ninth ranked Georgia Tech 47-44 in overtime, then moved to 19th in the AP poll.

The four position disparity in the polls this week is the largest for a Clemson team since September 22, 1997. That week Clemson was 17th in AP and 21st in USA Today. The record for the biggest disparity in ranking for Clemson between the two polls is eight spots. On October 8, 1951 Clemson was 16th in AP, but 24th in the UPI poll. The UPI ranked 25 teams for a few weeks during that season for some unknown reason according to the ESPN Encyclopedia of college football.

Clemson has now been ranked in the top 25 of the AP poll for seven of the last eight polls. The Tigers finished 21st in the final poll of both AP and USA Today last year.