Clemson has affirmed itself as a member of college football's elite since the formation of the College Football Playoff back in 2014. The Tigers have spent eighteen of the total twenty-five weeks in the top four of the CFP Top 25, and earned playoff berths annually since 2015.
Death Valley's finest have also posted a 14-6 record against teams that finished the season in the CFP Top 25 for a .700 winning percentage; a feat not easily accomplished according to Connor O'Gara of SaturdayDownSouth.com who compiled a list of many FBS programs' records.
Just four other teams have a winning record against Top 25 foes. The others were Alabama (18-5, .783), Ohio State (14-4, .778), Georgia (9-6, .600), and Oklahoma (10-7, .589). As a side note, the Tigers have defeated each of these teams at least once since 2013. Georgia is the only team in the group that the Tigers have not defeated in the playoff era, losing to the Bulldogs in 2014 in Athens.
O'Gara had this to say about college football's elite:
When you look at a list like that with all of those elite programs, it sort of puts things in perspective. If you’re beating Top-25 teams more times than not, you’re an elite program. Period. The fact that Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State have done that at least 70 percent of the time is why they represent 9 of the 16 total Playoff berths.
He added:
This data shows just how good Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State have been in the Playoff era. They aren’t just getting to the Playoff strictly based on reputation. And perhaps this shows that the teams in that next tier (Florida State, Georgia, Oklahoma, Wisconsin) can be average against the nation’s elite and still be considered premier programs.
Some familiar foes were on the list as well - Florida State clocked in at 7-8 (.467), South Carolina at 4-12 (.250), and Louisville at 1-11 (.090). NC State is yet to beat a team that finished in the final CFP rankings, with an 0-9 record.
See the entire list and analysis by O'Gara here: Saturday Down South
