re: Could Clemson remain #1 if they go undefeated in 2019?

Clemson has 9 of 11 coming back on offense - loaded with stars across the board that a Bama couldn’t stop. And they are only going to get better as those Soph become juniors and those freshman become Soph. They will be top 5 offense.

Sure, their defense will be a work in progress this year, but I can assure you their D will still be a top 15/20 defense considering the entire replacement players are all 4 and 5 stars. Couple that with the amount of snaps those backups have gotten in blowouts the last two years and that Venables, who has coached in SEVEN championship games will be back, you know their defense will still be very good and among the nations best. They will certainly be much better than any D OU has put on the field during their playoff years.

Whether they are no 1, 2, 3, or 4 wont matter. They will still be a top 4 team next year regardless of their schedule and will deserve to be in the playoffs if they go undefeated. Lose a game in that schedule, that’s a different story. They then expose themselves to being left out due to SOS.