College Football: Surprises and Snubs from the Coaches Poll

Snub: Clemson at No. 5

Any team that comes off of a National Championship should at least be ranked inside the top four to start the next season. Even if the Clemson Tigers lost their heart and soul in quarterback Deshaun Watson to the NFL, they still have one of the best head coaches in the country in Dabo Swinney. They also have options at quarterback to replace Watson in Kelly Bryant and five-star recruit Hunter Johnson. Even Zerrick Cooper looks like a viable option.

It’s easy to say that the Alabama Crimson Tide, Ohio State Buckeyes, Florida State Seminoles, and USC Trojans are all more talented teams entering the 2017 campaign, but Clemson should at least be ranked higher than Southern Cal. The respect that a team deserves from knocking off a dynasty like Alabama should be greater than what was showed in the results of the first Coaches Poll.

If nothing else, this should motivate Clemson to repeat what they did in 2016 and prove the voters wrong. Swinney seems like the type of coach to carry a chip on his shoulder at all times and this is another reason to continue doing that. If anyone has earned the right to get the benefit of the doubt, it’s the team that takes down an undefeated Alabama team.