National analyst big on Clemson, projects return to College Football Playoff |
Longtime college football pundit Phil Steele is buying stock in Clemson’s Tigers and a return to the College Football Playoff.
Steele recently went on the Paul Finebaum Show to talk up the Tigers. “If I’m going to pick one from outside of the box...I like the Clemson Tigers,” Steele said. “When you look at Clemson, I believe their over/under win total is 9.5, and when I talked to coach (Dabo) Swinney this year going over the team with him, he told me this defensive line he has with him coming back doesn’t have the star power of the 2018 group, but it’s deeper in talent and experience than the 2018 defensive line. “They have a quarterback in Cade Klubnik, they’ve got the running backs with (Will) Shipley and (Phil) Mafah, they’ve got a much improved offensive line, a dynamite defense, 15 starters back there and I see Clemson favored in all 12 games. So the over/under of 9.5 looks pretty easy to me. And I think Clemson makes its way into the Playoff as one of these outside the (Vegas) Top 4.” Steele’s complete CFP Four is Alabama, Georgia, Michigan and Clemson. Clemson is seeking a return to that tier for the first time since 2020, after falling short of preseason Top 4 rankings each of the last two years. The consensus Vegas favorites to make the 2023 CFP are Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State and Michigan.
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