Are people out on Dabo Swinney after Clemson’s unranked in AP Poll?

Clemson still has enough talent to make noise in the ACC this season. What the Tigers no longer have is the benefit of the doubt nationally.

That was the bigger takeaway from On3’s Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman after Clemson narrowly missed the preseason AP Top 25. The Tigers finished only five voting points behind No. 25 Missouri, but the result still ended a streak of preseason rankings that dated back to 2012.

“Does this mean that poll voters are out on Dabo? They are no longer giving Dabo the benefit of the doubt?” Staples asked. “Because it’s not like Clemson, if we went roster for roster with a lot of those teams that are ranked above where Clemson is receiving votes – we would say Clemson has the better roster.”

Wasserman believes voters have good reason to be cautious.

“Some question at quarterback, they’ve been down. Last year’s coaching situation was bad,” Wasserman said. “I think that this is rational. What I would be more interested in is why they should be ranked? It’s not that head-scratching. I think that this is fair…They aren’t hopeless, but I think this is a rational place to have them.”

For Wasserman, Clemson’s decline from automatic national contender to a team outside the Top 25 can be traced partly to Swinney’s reluctance to embrace the transfer portal as quickly as other programs.

He acknowledged that Clemson’s philosophy made sense for a long time. Swinney had won two national championships and built one of the best programs in the sport by recruiting and developing his own players. But while Clemson stayed committed to that approach, the rest of college football changed.

“They lost their edge as a program as a result of being late to the party,” Wasserman said.

That does not mean he is writing Clemson off in the ACC.

“I don’t think it’s out of the question that Clemson will compete for the ACC Championship this year or be in that mix,” Wasserman said. “Because the one thing that Clemson has done without question, for the most part, even in this downslide, was compete in this conference.”

The biggest wild card could be freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds.

Staples suggested Reynolds has been better than Clemson expected when it signed him and could eventually make it difficult for Swinney to keep him off the field.

“Tait Reynolds was not expected to be this. They were surprised at how good he was when he got there,” Staples said. “Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence didn’t surprise anybody. They were expected to be the best quarterback in their class by a lot of people.”

ESPN analyst gives update on Clemson’s ‘QB battle,’ expects competition

📸 Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network , USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co https://t.co/RfZ6XsrILqpic.twitter.com/8uQmskFMOU

Staples also wondered whether Swinney could wait longer than necessary before making a change if Reynolds proves to be Clemson’s best option.

“Now he (Swinney) might not play the best one as soon as he should,” Staples said.

Clemson is hardly buried entering the season. The Tigers are sitting right outside the rankings and remain a legitimate ACC contender.

The difference is that voters are no longer ranking Clemson based on what Swinney’s program used to be. This time, the Tigers will have to earn their way back in.

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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Are people out on Dabo Swinney after Clemson’s unranked in AP Poll?