ESPN Analyst Gives His Ranking for Clemson, Talks Win vs. UVA

On Monday, ESPN analyst Greg McElroy gave his personal top 15 rankings following a wild Week 8 of the college football campaign that saw multiple teams in the AP Top 25 go down and others narrowly avoid upsets.

In an episode of his Always College Football show, McElroy did his weekly dive into “what the rankings should be,” and he believes Clemson should be just inside the top 15 right now.

Entering Week 9, the Tigers (6-1, 5-0 ACC) checked in at No. 14 in McElroy’s ranking, one spot ahead of Alabama and one spot below Iowa State.

McElroy commented on his ranking for Clemson, pointing out the combined record of the teams the Tigers have beaten so far (16-26).

“That’s what Clemson’s opponents have played. 16-26,” McElroy said. “The only team they’ve played so far that they’ve beaten that has a winning record is Virginia, and they’re one game over .500. So, that one’s a tough one to stomach.”

In that 48-31 victory over Virginia last Saturday at Death Valley, the Tigers reached the 40-point mark for the fifth time this season and outscored the Cavaliers 21-0 in the third quarter to pull away. With the win, Clemson has started 5-0 in ACC play for the eighth time under head coach Dabo Swinney and the 16th time since joining the ACC in 1953.

McElroy weighed in on what he saw from Clemson offensively and defensively in Saturday’s game. The former Alabama quarterback believes the Tigers’ defense is still a bit of a question mark, relative to the lofty standard that has been set on that side of the ball.

“Really solid performance from the third quarter on, on the offensive side,” McElroy said. “Defensively, the fourth quarter, Virginia – this game wasn’t as close, frankly, as the final score would indicate. The final score would indicate that it was 48-31, but if you watched it, you would probably see the same thing I saw. Clemson was in control. The fourth quarter when Virginia got in crazy hurry up, let’s-go-get-after-it mode, that’s when it got tight.

“Clemson still continues to be very much improved, but I do have questions a little bit about Clemson’s defense. Just a little bit. I just don’t know. Remember, Clemson sets a high bar and a high standard for defense. I don’t know if they’re there just yet.”

Clemson moved up one spot to No. 9 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll that was released Sunday, while the Tigers stayed at No. 9 in the latest Coaches Poll.

Clemson has an open date this week before returning to action against Louisville at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 2. The kickoff time and network television designation for that game are still TBA.

Below you can see what McElroy believes the top 15 should be right now, as well as his commentary on those teams in the following video:

1. Oregon
2. Georgia
3. Penn State
4. Ohio State
5. Miami
6. Texas
7. Tennessee
8. Notre Dame
9. BYU
10. Indiana
11. LSU
12. Texas A&M
13. Iowa State
14. Clemson
15. Alabama

A limited number of signed replica road signs from Cade Klubnik are available!  Visit Clemson Variety & Frame or purchase online!