Ken Luinard – USA TODAY Sports
Hours after the release of the preseason AP Top 25 poll on Monday, Fox Sports released its “Ultimate 134” rankings for every FBS team ahead of the 2024 college football season.
The Fox Sports rankings are different from the AP rankings because the AP rankings are compiled by a group of sports writers while the Fox Sports rankings are compiled by a single analyst, which is why Fox analyst RJ Young sees a big gap between the ACC’s two top programs, Clemson and Florida State, entering 2024.
The Seminoles are No. 5 in Young’s rankings but No. 10 in both the preseason Associated Press and US LBM Coaches Poll. Clemson is further back at No. 19 in Young’s rankings, five spots lower than their placements in both the Associated Press and Coaches Poll.
Young uses strength of schedule, continuity of coaching staff, returning star players, recruiting class of 2024, “star” players and results/success in the transfer portal as some of the criteria for his rankings.
While Young praises the continuity and stability at Clemson under Dabo Swinney, who is in his 17th year as the Tigers’ coach, one concern he has for the 2024 team is the Tigers’ schedule.
Parr Young:
“Dabo Swinney has been to the College Football Playoff six of the last nine years. During that time, he has played in four national titles and won two of them. With an expanded playoff and no longer having to worry about Nick Saban, Swinney and Clemson have a program that can make the most of their continuity.”
“Beating Florida State, Georgia or Virginia Tech, three teams that may be in the spotlight this season, is an obvious obstacle for the Tigers, but they’ll be the first to say Florida State was lucky to escape Death Valley with a win last year. No one can match up to DJ Uiagalelei except Swinney. The Tigers’ linebacker corps might be the best in the country, with Barrett Carter and five-star freshman Sammy Brown. They’ll get after quarterbacks.”
Clemson opens its 2024 season with a “neutral-site” game against Georgia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta in Week 1 (noon ET, ABC), then a little more than a month later, the Tigers head to Tallahassee for their annual showdown with Florida State, before visiting Lane Stadium and Virginia Tech in early November.
As for Florida State, Young said he believes Mike Norvell can go the way of Bobby Bowden in the ’90s, when Florida State won two national titles between 1993 and 2000 and went on to win three more.
“Mike Norvell has replaced 10 NFL Draft picks with players of equal talent and is close to returning FSU to the state it was under Bobby Bowden for much of the 1990s. With tight end Kyle Morlock being the only skill player to start on the Seminoles’ offense last year, Norvell went on a shopping spree, acquiring former five-star quarterback DJ Uiagalelei and Alabama transfers Terrence Ferguson, Malik Benson and Roydell Williams.”
This season promises to be a tough one for the Noles, who will face Southern Methodist University on September 28, host Clemson University on October 5 and play Miami University on the road on October 26.
Miami came in at No. 26, but no other ACC teams made Young’s top 25 rankings: North Carolina State at No. 30, SMU at No. 32 and Louisville at No. 35.
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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Clemson, Florida State ranked 1-134 in Fox Sports preseason rankings
