Right now, Clemson isn’t the best team in the country. It isn’t even No. 2. There is an argument it shouldn’t be in the top four if the season ended today.

That’s not to say the Tigers aren’t making the College Football Playoff. I believe they will end up undefeated and get the chance to defend their national championship.

But you can only evaluate what you see, and Clemson’s narrow 21-20 victory over North Carolina on Saturday in Chapel Hill was eye-opening.

The high-powered offense, which was supposed to be one of the nation’s best this season, managed just 331 total yards. Sophomore quarterback Trevor Lawrence continued his underwhelming start to the season and has now thrown eight touchdowns compared to five interceptions. The defense allowed 146 rushing yards to a Tar Heels team that now has three losses and has fallen to the likes of Wake Forest and Appalachian State.

Even the Tigers’ best win, a 24-10 home victory over Texas A&M, doesn’t look quite as good now that the Aggies were overwhelmed by Auburn and nearly lost to Arkansas on Saturday.

Alabama has dominated all of its opponents. So has Ohio State. Georgia beat Notre Dame, which looks like a legit top-10 team. You can find reasons to put Oklahoma, Auburn and LSU ahead of Clemson, too. All have been better thus far.

I fully expect Clemson to figure it out. This seems to happen every year. We wonder what’s wrong with the Tigers, but by November Dabo Swinney’s team is back to its dominant form on its way to another playoff bid.

Last year Clemson nearly lost to Syracuse, albeit with backup quarterback Chase Brice leading the comeback. The year before, it lost at Syracuse. In 2016, the Tigers were stunned by Pittsburgh. They still reached the final four.

Clemson will be fine. There is too much talent on the roster. Lawrence isn’t going to be this underwhelming for too much longer and the defense has performed well despite all the losses to the NFL, making the game-saving play in the final minute against North Carolina’s game-winning two-point conversion attempt. There is nobody good enough left on the schedule that should be able to put Clemson’s undefeated regular season in danger, granted they begin to play better.

But at the moment, Clemson isn’t better than Alabama and Georgia, and you can include a few others in that elite group, too. You can’t ignore the on-field evidence.

Wuss in boots

There isn’t a bigger mystery than Penn State. It is undefeated, 4-0, and has cruised thus far by a 200-30 aggregate score. But it’s also fair to wonder if the Nittany Lions are a product of another incredibly soft non-conference schedule under coach James Franklin. The one decent team they have faced, Pittsburgh,

nearly pulled an upset. Still, Friday night’s 59-0 ravaging of Maryland in College Park was so impressive, Penn State outgaining the Terps, 619-128. Sophomore quarterback Sean Clifford has already thrown nine touchdown passes and completed 66 percent of his passes. Soon, he and his teammates will be tested, starting with an Oct. 12 visit to Iowa. Until then, we’ll be left to ponder what to make of the Nittany Lions.

Trading places

Both players, Jalen Hurts and Justin Fields, were question marks back in August. The Alabama and Georgia transfers, new to their respective programs, had to win quarterback competitions. But as we move into October, Oklahoma’s Hurts and Ohio State’s Fields are Heisman Trophy favorites, along with Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, On Saturday, Hurts notched the first 400-yard passing game of his career in his Big 12 debut, while Fields led a 48-7 bloodletting of Nebraska in prime time, throwing for 212 yards and three touchdowns and running for 72 yards and another score. It just shows how important transfers have become. They can lead to dream seasons.

Top 10

1. Alabama (5-0) (2)

Alabama’s receiving corps is so deep, Devonta Smith — who set school records with 274 yards receiving and five touchdown catches against Ole Miss — is its No. 3 wideout.

2. Georgia (4-0) (3)

The Bulldogs basically get a bye until November — Tennessee, South Carolina and Kentucky will be glorified scrimmages — when showdowns with Florida and Auburn loom.

3. Clemson (5-0) (Last week: 1)

The Tigers survived Chapel Hill, and that’s really the only way to describe their performance in a one-point victory. Clemson was out-gained on the ground, lost the time-of-possession battle and all that kept the ACC powerhouse undefeated was it stopped a two-point conversion in the final minute.

4. Ohio State (5-0) (4)

The Buckeyes have yet to allow more than 21 points or score less than 42. Even their biggest fans couldn’t have dreamed of a more dominant 5-0 start.

5. LSU (4-0) (5)

A bye week followed by a game against Utah State. Ed Orgeron will be running gassers disguised as practices this week to avoid overconfidence.

6. Oklahoma (4-0) (6)

Next week’s opponent, Kansas, just gave up 51 points to TCU. The Sooners, averaging a blistering 55.5 points per game, could put up 100 if they want.

7. Auburn (5-0) (7)

Bo Nix threw for 310 yards and five touchdowns in his first four games. Saturday, the freshman threw for 335 yards and two scores in a blowout of Mississippi State, a significant step forward considering the brutal upcoming schedule Auburn will face.

8. Notre Dame (3-1) (10)

The Irish backed up their impressive performance against Georgia by dominating Virginia, one of the ACC’s better teams, limiting the Cavaliers to 4 yards rushing and forcing five turnovers in the one-sided victory.

9. Texas (3-1) (9)

The warm-up for Oklahoma shouldn’t include any complications. It better not — West Virginia nearly lost to Kansas and was manhandled by SEC East also-ran Missouri — or the Longhorns really don’t have a chance of pulling the upset.



10. Wisconsin (4-0) (8)

The Badgers will need better quarterback play from Jack Coan (15 of 24, 113 yards, one interception in a win over Northwestern) to hang with the Big Ten’s best.

Heisman Watch

(in alphabetical order)

QB Joe Burrow, LSU

After throwing six touchdown passes last Saturday against Vanderbilt, Burrow said it was his worst game of the season. Sounds like a Nick Saban-type of player.



QB Justin Fields, Ohio State

It’s funny to think about the questions surrounding Fields back in August now that he’s reminded everyone why he was such a big prospect coming out of high school. All he’s done in five games is produce 19 touchdowns, zero interceptions and 1,314 all-purpose yards.

QB Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma

Hurts threw for over 400 yards for the first time in his career in a rout of Texas Tech, but based on his season thus far, and the sad state of defenses in the Big 12, 500 yards might be next.

QB Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama

Another Saturday, another record-breaking performance for the junior, who threw for six touchdowns, setting a new school mark. His 81 career scores are also the most by any Alabama player.

RB Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin

The New Jersey native has played 31 games and rushed for 100 yards or more 26 times. No wonder he’s now fourth on the Badgers’ career rushing list with 4,730 yards.