2022 College Football Rankings: Updated top 10 after spring

5. Clemson

The Clemson Tigers have work to do. But the prediciton of their demise has been overblown and I’ve been saying that since last season.

Clemson was disappointing in 2021, there is no question about that, but the Tigers still rallied to win 10 games and finish 14th in the final AP Poll. The ESPN FPI has them ranked fourth heading into the 2022 college football season and that seems fair to me.

The defense is going to be loaded with talent. Dabo Swinney was quick to praise that side of the ball after the spring game and you could sense he feels really good about that side of the ball.

That confidence is probably justified because Clemson had the second-best scoring defense in college football in 2022 (14.3) and returns Trenton Simpson and Myles Murphy, two of its top players from a season ago.

D.J. Uiagalelei didn’t look great during the spring game. Yet, he had to face the Clemson defense, and Cade Klubnik, the five-star freshman looked really good, so even if Uiagalelei struggles, the Tigers have a solid option. Plus, the ground game which returns Will Shipley and Kobe Pace should be elite.