Paul Finebaum Shines Spotlight On 'Disappointing' Decline Of CFB Powerhouse

At the beginning of the College Football Playoff era, the college football world was dominated by the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Clemson Tigers.

Between 2014 and 2019, the Tigers and the Crimson Tide won two national championships and competed for two others. The Crimson Tide has maintained its success by securing an additional national championship, while the Tigers have started to decline. Although the Tigers made it to the College Football Playoff in 2020, they were defeated in the semifinals and have not returned.

ESPN's Paul Finebaum called Clemson's fall "disappointing," noting Dabo Swinney's diminished presence at ACC media days.

"It's fairly disappointing because this program a couple of years ago was literally at the epicenter of college football," Finebaum said. "When Dabo showed up at media days, it was the biggest story in the sport and I didn't even realize until I looked up on the screen a few minutes ago and saw him today (Thursday) at the ACC media days."

According to ESPN's Football Power Index , which measures a team's strength and is the best predictor of a team's performance for the rest of the season, the Tigers are ranked as the No. 15 team overall and No. 2 in the ACC this season.

The FPI projects the Tigers will have an 8-4 record. Clemson has a 19.3% chance of winning the ACC, a 26.9% chance of making the College Football Playoff, but only a 3.6% chance of reaching the national championship game.

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