Heather Dinich Voices Skepticism On Clemson’s Preseason AP Poll Ranking

Following Monday’s reveal of the preseason AP Top 25 poll for the 2024 college football season, ESPN’s Heather Dinich voiced her skepticism about the No. 14-ranked Clemson Tigers heading into the fall.

Dinich joined ESPN’s Get Up on Tuesday morning, where host Mike Greenberg asked her who she believes is the most overrated team in the Top 25. She responded by stating that the Clemson Tigers are one of the programs she views as overrated, which comes off a 9-4 season last fall.

“Clemson, why so much love for the Clemson Tigers?,” Dinich asked. “They had four conference losses last year, which is as many as they’ve had combined in the past six seasons.”

The Tigers' 2023 campaign was a mediocre performance by program standards, especially after making only one ACC championship appearance in the past three seasons. This relatively disappointing three-year stretch follows a period of dominance during which the program won six consecutive ACC crowns and two College Football Playoff titles between 2015 and 2020.

Dinich continued by pointing to the recent quarterback play of Tigers’ starter Cade Klubnik as a main detractor in her mind.

“People keep telling me their defense is going to be great, their defense is always pretty good,” Dinich said. “But they’ve got to get a quarterback. Cade Klubnik is back, until we see offensive improvement, I don’t see why there should be so much love for the Clemson Tigers.”

Klubnik did not have his strongest year in his first full season as Clemson’s starting quarterback, which mirrored the Tigers’ offensive ineptitude. Last season, Klubnik passed for 2,844 yards with 19 touchdowns, while throwing nine interceptions.

While the Tigers’ defense will be a strong suit for the program this fall, the offensive efficiency under Klubnik will need to make major strides of improvement for many throughout the college football landscape to take Clemson seriously.

The Tigers start off their 2024 campaign with a daunting matchup in the Aflac Kickoff Game at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium against the No. 1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs on Aug. 31. The game is scheduled to begin at noon (ET) on ABC.