College Football Rankings 2020: Projected AP Top 25 final rankings
By Zach Bigalke
Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. lost 49-23 vs. No. 3 Ohio State (CFP semifinal in New Orleans). Clemson Tigers. 10-2. 5. player. 879
Against a team that Dabo Swinney voted No. 11 in his final regular season Coaches Poll ballot, Clemson collapsed in a 49-23 defeat to Ohio State at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans to conclude their 2020 season. It is the kind of defeat that would normally send a team collapsing out of the top five of the final AP Top 25, but given the stakes of their tilt against the Buckeyes — and the bowl results of the teams below them in the poll — Clemson will only drop a spot or two.
In his final game as the starting quarterback for the Tigers, Trevor Lawrence couldn’t muster enough magic to reach the championship game. Lawrence finished with 400 yards and two touchdowns on 33-of-48 passing, but he also tossed an interception and lost one of three fumbles he coughed up. Ohio State bottled up the Clemson ground game, allowing just 44 net yards on 22 carries.
Was Clemson still one of the five best teams in the country this season after dropping two games to Notre Dame and Ohio State? Pollsters will definitely think so when they cast their final ballots, and the only place they might fall out of the top five is in one or more of the computer rankings. While the Tigers didn’t reach their ultimate goal in 2020, they enjoyed the kind of season that 127 FBS teams would love to boast.