Clemson ranked in Top 5 of first Coaches Poll. South Carolina, CCU get some votes

The Palmetto State’s preeminent football programs received attention in the preseason USA Today Coaches poll that was released Monday.

Clemson was slotted fourth in the country behind Alabama (No. 1), Ohio State (No. 2) and Georgia (No. 3), while South Carolina received enough votes to place them 45th among those teams listed.

Six Southeastern Conference teams were in the initial top 25, while nine teams from the league received more points than South Carolina. USC will play six of those teams ranked ahead of the Gamecocks, plus Clemson in the regular season finale.

Clemson was one of five Atlantic Coast Conference teams slotted in the top 25. The other four were N.C. State (No. 13), Pittsburgh (No. 16), Miami (No. 17) and Wake Forest (No. 19). North Carolina (34 points), Louisville (one point) and Florida State (one point) also received votes.

The Tigers enter the year off a 10-3 campaign in which the offense struggled to find its footing under quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei. Head coach Dabo Swinney replaced both his coordinators this offseason after Brent Venables (Oklahoma) and Tony Elliott (Virginia) took head coaching jobs.

South Carolina is heading into Year 2 of the Shane Beamer era following a surprising 7-6 campaign that concluded with a victory over North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. USC brought in former Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler, among a bevy of transfers, in hopes of revitalizing an offense that ranked toward the bottom of the SEC.

We don’t know exactly how many votes were cast for the Gamecocks — they earned five points in USA Today’s rankings. Teams are given points that correspond to the place they are slotted by voters, with first place votes counting as the most and decreasing in value down to 25th.

Coastal Carolina also received two points in the coaches poll following its second 11-win season in as many years. Head coach Jamey Chadwell is a voter in the poll.

The Associated Press preseason poll is expected to be released Aug. 15.

The Gamecocks haven’t been ranked in the AP poll since entering at No. 24 in September 2018, though that stay only lasted one week after USC lost 41-17 to then-No. 3 Georgia.

USA Today 2022 Preseason Coaches Poll

*first place votes in parentheses

1. Alabama - 1,634 (54)
2. Ohio State 1,564 (5)
3. Georgia - 1,542 (6)
4. Clemson - 1,356
5. Notre Dame - 1,284
6. Michigan - 1,232
7. Texas A&M - 1,219
8. Utah - 1,134
9. Oklahoma - 1,027
10. Baylor - 891
11. Oklahoma State - 859
12. Oregon - 734
13. NC State - 726
14. Michigan State - 711
15. Southern California - 602
16. Pittsburgh - 450
17. Miami - 433
18. Texas (1) - 383
19. Wake Forest - 381
20. Wisconsin - 369
21. Kentucky - 353
22. Cincinnati - 339
23. Arkansas - 334
24. Mississippi - 327
25. Houston - 257

Others receiving votes: Iowa 248; Penn State 246; Tennessee 163; Brigham Young 152; Louisiana State 143; Auburn 98; Central Florida 55; North Carolina 34; San Diego State 25; Fresno State 21; Mississippi State 19; Florida 17; Utah State 12; Air Force 12; UCLA 10; Boise State 10; Appalachian State 10; Minnesota 6; South Carolina 5; Kansas State 4; Iowa State 3; Army 3; UL Lafayette 2; Southern Methodist 2; Purdue 2; Oregon State 2; Coastal Carolina 2; Texas-San Antonio 1; Louisville 1; Florida State 1.

This story was originally published August 8, 2022 at 12:30 PM.

Ben Portnoy

The State

Ben Portnoy is The State’s South Carolina Gamecocks football beat writer. He’s a 10-time Associated Press Sports Editors award honoree and has earned recognition from the Mississippi Press Association and the National Sports Media Association. Portnoy previously covered Mississippi State for the Columbus Commercial Dispatch and Indiana football for the Journal Gazette in Ft. Wayne, IN.