Clemson sinks further in new college football rankings after Week 2

Things are not going well for the Clemson Tigers through two weeks of the 2026 college football season. Clemson (1-1) was embarrassed in a 51-10 rout by LSU in its season opener at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, which was the most lopsided loss of Dabo Swinney's 18-plus seasons with the Tigers. Week

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What is the story about?

Things are not going well for the Clemson Tigers through two weeks of the 2026 college football season.

Clemson (1-1) was embarrassed in a 51-10 rout by LSU in its season opener at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, which was the most lopsided loss of Dabo Swinney's 18-plus seasons with the Tigers.

Week 2 saw Clemson earn its first victory of the season

, but it was hardly an impressive or dominant performance.

The Tigers struggled to fully put away Georgia Southern in a 22-7 victory that saw starting quarterback Christopher Vizzina injured and forced true freshman Tait Reynolds, who didn't play his senior season of high school in Arizona, into the spotlight as the team's starter.

Reynolds will make his first start in Saturday's ACC opener against North

Carolina at Clemson Memorial Stadium, Swinney announced Sunday. Vizzina suffered an elbow injury and left last Saturday's game after three offensive series.

Reynolds was 16-of-27 for 178 yards against Georgia Southern. He led five of the Tigers' six scoring drives while T.J. Moore caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Vizzina for Clemson's only touchdown. Tom Allen's defense held Georgia Southern to 244 yards in Saturday's win, including just 22 rushing yards.

On the whole, Clemson's win didn't inspire a lot of confidence among many fans. The Tigers also slid further in various college football rankings of every school in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

How good, bad is Clemson football after two weeks? USA TODAY Sports ranks Tigers

In USA TODAY Sports' weekly NCAA football rankings on Monday, longtime college football analyst Paul Myerberg has the Tigers at No. 74 overall, a 17-spot slide from after Week 1's loss to LSU.

Clemson is ranked one spot below the UCF Knights (1-1) from the Big 12 and one spot ahead of Kennesaw State (1-1) from Conference USA.

The Tigers began the season ranked No. 25 in USA TODAY Sports' full 138 rankings, marking a 49-spot plunge in the first two weeks of the season.

CBS Sports drops Clemson after win over Georgia Southern

Monday's updated college football rankings from CBS Sports were a little more kind to the Tigers, placing them at No. 55 overall on its list of the full 138 FBS schools.

CBS ranks Clemson one spot below the San Diego State Aztecs (1-1) and one spot ahead of the Minnesota Golden Golphers (1-1), the latter of which are coming off a 38-13 rout by Mississippi State (2-0) over the weekend in Minneapolis.

Clemson was No. 24 in CBS Sports' full 1-138 preseason rankings. They fell to No. 51 after the 41-point loss to LSU.

The Athletic ranks Clemson after two weeks of 2026 college football season

Over at The Athletic (subscription required for full access), analyst Chris Vannini ranks the Tigers No. 61 in his full 1-college football team rankings for all 138 FBS programs.

Clemson was No. 33 in the outlet's preseason rankings and fell 26 spots after the loss to LSU, plus two more spots after Saturday's 15-point win over Georgia Southern.

The Tigers are ranked between two ACC rivals: they're one spot below NC State (1-1) and one spot ahead of Georgia Tech (0-2).

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney shares unjust update on QB Christopher Vizzina

📸 Butch Dill, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect https://t.co/9xGpjtlZCo pic.twitter.com/HbYuTfNQNd
— Clemson Wire (@Clemson_Wire) September 13, 2026

ACC football teams ranked worst to first by USA TODAY Sports entering Week 3

Here's where all 17 ACC teams sit in USA TODAY Sports' rankings for Week 3, including their overall rank.

17. Boston College Eagles (No. 108 nationally)
16. Stanford Cardinal (No. 106)
15. Syracuse Orange (No. 78)
14. Clemson Tigers (No. 74)
13. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (No. 71)
12. NC State Wolfpack (No. 58)
11. North Carolina Tar Heels (No. 54)
10. California Golden Bears (No. 53)
9. Florida State Seminoles (No. 51)
8. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (No. 48)
7. Virginia Tech Hokies (No. 35)
6. Pitt Panthers (No. 34)
5. Louisville Cardinals (No. 28)
4. Duke Blue Devils (No. 21)
3. Virginia Cavaliers (No. 20)
2. SMU Mustangs (No. 17)
1. Miami Hurricanes (No. 5)

New No. 1 in US LBM Coaches Poll as ACC football moves up

📸 Sam Navarro, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect https://t.co/WuXWfJ0enU pic.twitter.com/ZMuwQJTKnr
— Clemson Wire (@Clemson_Wire) September 13, 2026