Clemson opens 2019 season ranked No. 1, and it’s not very close
Clemson opens the 2019 season where it finished in 2018 — ranked No. 1.
The defending national champions are on top of the initial USA Today Coaches Poll, which was released Thursday.
Alabama is No. 2, while No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 5 Ohio State round out the top five.
The Tigers received 59 first-place votes, with Alabama getting six. No other team received any first-place votes. Clemson defeated Alabama 44-16 in last year’s national title game, giving the Tigers their second national title in three years.
Clemson has made the College Football Playoff each of the past four seasons and has two legitimate Heisman candidates entering 2019 in quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running back Travis Etienne.
The two are expected to lead Clemson to a fifth consecutive ACC title and fifth consecutive College Football Playoff berth. The Tigers open fall camp on Friday.
“It’s kind of business as usual for us, to be honest with you. It’s just what we do every year,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said of the Tigers having a target on their backs. “We’ve had eight 10-plus winning seasons in a row, been very consistent. The reason for that is, we start over... It’s a new team, there’s new challenges. You got to redevelop the leadership, reinstall the core values.”
Clemson faces two teams ranked in the initial top 25 during the regular season in No. 11 Texas A&M and No. 22 Syracuse.
The Tigers host Texas A&M in Week 2 and travel to Syracuse in Week 3. Clemson lost its last game at Syracuse, falling to the Orange in 2017.
South Carolina, Clemson’s opponent to close out the 2019 regular season, received 15 votes — good for No. 42. The Tigers also face N.C. State (12 votes), Boston College (five votes) and Florida State (four votes) during the 2019 regular season.
USA TODAY COACHES POLL
Team | Points (first-place votes) |
1. Clemson | 1,619 (59) |
2. Alabama | 1,566 (6) |
3. Georgia | 1,447 |
4. Oklahoma | 1,415 |
5. Ohio State | 1,368 |
6. LSU | 1,218 |
7. Michigan | 1,155 |
8. Florida | 1,103 |
9. Notre Dame | 1,100 |
10. Texas | 1,038 |
11. Texas A&M | 893 |
12. Washington | 834 |
13. Oregon | 787 |
14. Penn State | 699 |
15. Utah | 642 |
16. Auburn | 606 |
17. Wisconsin | 436 |
17. UCF | 436 |
19. Iowa | 343 |
20. Michigan State | 313 |
21. Washington State | 274 |
22. Syracuse | 227 |
23. Stanford | 200 |
24. Iowa State | 169 |
25. Northwestern | 161 |
Others receiving votes: Nebraska 152; Boise State 118; Mississippi State 111; Miami 94; Army 91; Kentucky 79; Virginia Tech 64; Texas Christian 63; Southern California 47; Utah State 32; Fresno State 32; Virginia 30; Cincinnati 25; West Virginia 24; Memphis 24; Oklahoma State 20; South Carolina 15; NC State 12; Duke 10; Boston College 5; Florida State 4; Baylor 4; Appalachian State 4; North Texas 3; Houston 3; UCLA 2; Temple 2; Arizona State 2; Troy 1; Tennessee 1; Mississippi 1; Minnesota 1.
This story was originally published August 1, 2019 at 12:12 PM.