Clemson Is NOT A Top 5 Team

The Clemson Tigers (7-0) are currently ranked # 4 in the nation behind only Alabama (# 1), Ohio State (# 2) and Michigan (# 3), however Clemson does not deserve to be ranked this highly, and absolutely should not be in a College Football Playoff spot right now. Why? 

(1) Week 2 - Clemson basically doesn't show up to play, and barely squeaks by a lower class football team that probably 75% of people have never heard of, the Troy Trojans. Final score? 30-24, and it took a late score for the Tigers to pull this one out, as Troy lead Clemson very late in the 4th quarter. A team that is supposed to be the 3rd best team in the country should have absolutely destroyed a team on this caliber and should have been able to play the cheerleaders the entire 2nd half.

Now you could say, well it was early in the year, just the second game and they thought this would be a good game to work on some things they needed to clean up from a close 19-13 win over Auburn in week 1, which by the was wasn't a high quality win either. Need more reasons?

(2) Week 7 - Clemson had all they could handle and then some against a much less superior opponent in NC State. In fact, the Wolfpack had a 37 yard field goal attempt on the final play of the game to beat Clemson, but the kick was missed wide right. Had NC State made that FG, the game would have been over. Instead, Clemson got a second chance and was able to barely pull out the win in the 1st overtime period. Again, much like the Troy game, Clemson should have been all over NC State from the start and this game should have never been close. Not a characteristic of the 3rd best team in the country.

(3) Clemson only has one high quality win, which came against Louisville, which just happens to be the only ranked team they have played, winning that game on a late score 42-36. But being honest, Clemson shouldn't have won this game either. (To be fair, Auburn is now ranked as well, but wasn't at the time Clemson played them)

(4) Clemson is way too inconsistent to be the 3rd best team in the country. Some weeks they show up and play well, the way a 3rd ranked team should play, other weeks they simply just don't show up, something that elite football teams just don't allow to happen.

(5) Clemson lost AT home to an unranked Pittsburgh Panthers team 43-42. A top four or five, legitimate playoff team does NOT lose this game, especially not AT HOME. 

So in all honesty, Clemson could very easily have three losses right now, and quite frankly should have three losses and not even be in the College Football Playoff discussion. But back to my original statement, Clemson is NOT a Top 5 college football team and should not be recognized as one. 

(November 16th UPDATE): Clemson only fell two spots in the College Football playoff rankings after the stunning loss to Pittsburgh, and are still ranking at number four, still IN the playoffs. Absolutely ridiculous.