ESPN has named the Clemson Tigers as the No. 1 team on its “Anger Index” after the second College Football Playoff rankings were released on Tuesday night.
After a blowout loss to an unranked Notre Dame team this past weekend, Clemson dropped six spots down to No. 10 in this week’s rankings. The Alabama Crimson Tide, who notched their second loss of the season on Saturday, rank ahead of the Tigers at No. 9.
ESPN feels the Clemson program should be upset about this No. 10 position.
“The loss to Notre Dame was ugly, that much is clear. And Clemson has some big questions on offense right now. But the Tigers were good enough to be No. 4 a week ago, good enough that Notre Dame’s win moved the Irish from unranked into the top 20, and good enough that they’re still the clear favorite to win the ACC. So, why drop Clemson all the way to No. 10?”
The nature of the Tigers’ loss this past weekend is really what set them back. After going unbeaten through the first eight games of the season, Dabo Swinney’s team got absolutely routed 35-14 by the Fighting Irish in South Bend.
If Clemson wants to reintroduce itself to the College Football Playoff conversation, it will need to dominate in the final stretch of the season.
The Tigers will look to bounce back in a game against the Louisville Cardinals next weekend.