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CUTrevor
2019-08-16 12:49:36
They have Clemson ranked No.24, but that's because they have 7 small programs ranked ahead that aren't really better in terms of success on the field or relevance in the last 50 years. They have North Dakota State (not even an FBS school) ranked No.10 because of their recent dominance at the FCS level. They have early 20th century powerhouse Yale (my father's alma mater) ranked No.7 even though the Ivy League program has not been relevant since athletic scholarships became prominent forever ago. Same with Princeton and Harvard, ranked No.11 and No.13, respectively. They also have Division III Mount Union ranked No.16 and St. John's of Minnesota ranked No.18, for the same reason as FCS North Dakota State. Boise State, which has 300 less wins than Clemson, is ranked one spot ahead of the Tigers at No.23 despite winning zero national titles due to its high win percentage in its brief history playing in an inferior conference. So, in reality, Clemson is ranked No.17 among the true power programs all-time, but I think even that is undervaluing the Tigers. They have Auburn ranked higher at No.20, even though Clemson has 3 national titles to Auburn's 2. Clemson also has more first-round draft picks than Auburn. They also have Florida ranked ahead of Clemson despite 20 less wins and the same number of national titles. Georgia has more wins than Clemson but only has one (real) national title compared to Clemson's three. Tennessee is also ranked ahead with only two national titles. Clemson is just the 12th program with 3 AP national titles, so you could easily make the argument that Clemson should be No.12 or No.13. In my estimation, Clemson should be at worst No.15 and could make a case for being a spot or two higher. One thing is certain, though: with the juggernaut Dabo has built, Clemson will be rising quickly up the ranks in the next 10 years and could be a top-10 all-time program by the time he retires! |
