Has Clemson passed Alabama as the premier dynasty in college football?

CHARLOTTE, N.C. Clemson defeated Alabama in last year’s national title game and can clinch a third consecutive College Football Playoff berth with a win over Miami on Saturday.

Alabama has set the standard when it comes to college football since Nick Saban has been there, but ESPN analyst Rece Davis believes that may be changing.

"You could make the argument that Clemson's taking over the sport as the premier dynasty,” Davis said. “Alabama has been longer, but if (Clemson) can win, they'll have won their third straight ACC Championship, go to the playoff for the third straight year, have a chance to go to back-to-back national championships if they were to win.”

The Crimson Tide are on the outside looking in when it comes to the College Football Playoff heading into championship weekend.

Alabama is currently ranked No. 5 after losing to Auburn last Saturday.

Davis credits the rise of the ACC for helping Clemson. Miami enters the ACC championship game with only one loss, and four ACC teams are ranked in the College Football Playoff top 25.

“What the ACC has done in terms of upgrading its coaching and its level of play, commitment to the sport... I mean, I think sometimes we overdo this conference supremacy talk, because really what you're talking about, there are elite teams in several conferences, but there's some depth here,” Davis said. “Clemson has been the standard bearer for the last several years in terms of facilities and excellence in recruiting and pay scale and you name it. They've sort of set the bar, and if you want to compete with them, you have to keep up."

This story was originally published December 2, 2017 at 11:20 AM with the headline "Has Clemson passed Alabama as the premier dynasty in college football?."