Clemson gets lowest preseason AP poll ranking in 10 years. No votes for USC

The preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll is here.

And the Clemson football team is much lower than usual.

Coach Dabo Swinney’s program came in at No. 14 in the AP preseason top 25 poll released Monday. The Tigers haven’t ranked that low since ahead of the 2014 season, when they were the the outlet’s preseason No. 16 team.

Coming off a 9-4 season that saw Clemson lose its most games since 2011, the team also snapped an eight-year streak of being ranked inside the AP preseason top 10.

The Tigers saw a similar reputational drop in last week’s 2024 preseason USA Today coaches poll. Clemson was No. 14 in that poll, its lowest ranking since 2014 (No. 16).

This year’s AP preseason top 5 teams are No. 1 Georgia (Clemson’s Week 1 opponent), No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Texas and No. 5 Alabama.

One year after finishing just outside the preseason AP Top 25, the South Carolina football team wasn’t as close this time around. Coach Shane Beamer’s Gamecocks were unranked in Monday’s poll and were not listed among the 17 teams in the “receiving votes” category either.

USC went 5-7 last season and was one win short of qualifying for a bowl game. The Gamecocks were also unranked in last week’s preseason coaches poll but received 10 total voting points, which slotted them at 39th overall in the poll.

South Carolina last appeared in the preseason AP Top 25 poll in 2014.

At No. 14, Clemson is the second highest ranked ACC team in the preseason poll behind Florida State (No. 10). Miami (19) and NC State (24) are also ranked.

The SEC leads the poll with nine teams ranked and also has four in the top 10.

Clemson and South Carolina are both in the back half of their 2024 preseason practice schedules and held their first team scrimmages last weekend. The Tigers and Gamecocks both have their season openers on Saturday Aug. 31.

Preseason AP Top 25 poll

62 total voters; first-place votes in parentheses

1. Georgia (46)
2. Ohio State (15)
3. Oregon (1)
4. Texas
5. Alabama
6. Ole Miss
7. Notre Dame
8. Penn State
9. Michigan
10. Florida State
11. Missouri
12. Utah
13. LSU
14. Clemson
15. Tennessee
16. Oklahoma
17. Oklahoma State
18. Kansas State
19. Miami
20. Texas A&M
21. Arizona
22. Kansas
23. Southern Cal
24. NC State
25. Iowa

Others receiving votes: Louisville (111); Virginia Tech (77); Boise State (47); SMU (33); Iowa State (33); Liberty (32); Washington (23); West Virginia (17); Memphis (16); Nebraska (16); Wisconsin (15); UTSA (6); Tulane (5); App State (4); Kentucky (3); Auburn (2); Colorado (1)

This story was originally published August 12, 2024 at 12:00 PM.

Chapel Fowler

The State

Chapel Fowler, the NSMA’s 2024 South Carolina Sportswriter of the Year, has covered Clemson football and other topics for The State since summer 2022. His work’s also been honored by the Associated Press Sports Editors, the South Carolina Press Association and the North Carolina Press Association. He’s a Denver, N.C., native, a UNC-Chapel Hill alum and a pickup basketball enthusiast. Support my work with a digital subscription