Corey Clark: Rankings don’t matter right now, but still … Florida State dropping is absurd

I guess wins at Clemson don’t mean what they used to, huh?

Forget that the Tigers, I think, are still a potential nine-win team. They have one of the best defenses in the United States, and that quarterback (other than his decision to throw on third-and-1 in overtime) looked pretty darn good to me on Saturday. He might be the real deal.

That defense definitely is. And so is that stadium.

I mean, Clemson was only 64-2 in its last 66 home games. And both of those losses were by one point.

But yes, by all means, let’s drop Florida State AGAIN in both polls because the Seminoles barely beat a team that has dominated the ACC — and much of college football, frankly — for the better part of a decade.

It’s just absurd.

You know the last time a team dropped in the polls after beating Clemson?

Me neither. But I’m guessing it was during the Kennedy administration.

I know it doesn’t matter right now. I know we’re in late September. And I know if Florida State continues to win games, it will be where it needs to be in December. (Well, I think I know that anyway. But I’ve lived through this nonsense before. We all have. Close wins are treated almost like losses.)

Now that Florida State is relevant again, I wouldn’t be surprised if “Game Control” broke through its coffin, and slowly crawled out of its grave to make a return appearance to college football.

It’s been too long! Let’s dust that idiotic metric off and see how much we can punish the Seminoles for only barely beating a team that never, ever loses at home!

Welcome back, G.C. We knew you couldn’t quit us!

Here’s why the polls really bother me, though.

They’re just so flippin’ reactionary.

Florida State looked like the best team in the country the first two weeks of the season. The Seminoles went on a 38-3 run on LSU, which is, you know, a pretty good team, and dominated the second half en route to a blowout win.

The Seminoles then beat Southern Miss by 100 points and climbed to No. 3 in the national rankings.

I think that was fair.

Then, they went back on the road and barely beat a bad Boston College team. I get it. It was a horrible performance down the stretch. It was ugly. It took a face-mask call to wrap that thing up. Ugly. Sure.

That same weekend, though, No. 1 Georgia was down 14-3 to a mediocre South Carolina team. At home.

Texas was tied 10-10 at home vs. Wyoming. In the 4th quarter!

Those teams weren’t punished for subpar performances in their own stadiums.

Florida State, meanwhile, dropped a spot in the AP Top 25 for its narrow win over Boston College. Then, on Sunday, after beating a team it hadn’t beaten in almost a decade, a team that still has one of the most talented rosters in the United States, it dropped … again. In both polls!

The Seminoles were favored by two points in Death Valley. So, what exactly were the voters expecting? A 51-14 win? Those happen once in a lifetime, folks. Any win, at Clemson, is worthy of respect. A lot of respect.

Let me repeat this again: Since that Jameis Winston-led beatdown in 2013, Clemson was 64-2 in it last 66 games at home. And both of those losses were by one point. The Tigers have been as close to unbeatable as anyone in the country over that stretch.

But, because they looked so bad in the opener at Duke (which was a bizarre game that featured a whole bunch of crazy turnovers), voters decided to treat THIS win like the one last week. And Florida State, somehow, someway, was punished for winning AT DEATH VALLEY!

Is this real life?

I get that the offense hasn’t looked sharp since Jordan Travis got hurt during the BC game. I get that there are warts on this team. I get that the way the Boston College game finished was disturbing.

But look around the country.

Other than Washington, which hasn’t played anyone with a pulse, nobody is just out there beating the snot out of everyone it faces. Ohio State scored one touchdown in the first 59 minutes and 59 seconds of its game on Saturday. It leaped past Florida State.

Texas had that aforementioned struggle with Wyoming. It leaped past Florida State.

Georgia was down 11 at half to the only Power 5 team it has played this season. And it’s still far and away the No. 1 team in the country.

If you look simply at the results thus far, you could make a strong argument (and a correct one) that Florida State has the best resume in the country. The Seminoles are 4-0 with wins over LSU on a “neutral field” and AT Clemson.

And yet they continue to drop.

This is the problem when you play in the ACC. Wins are devalued. Close wins are treated like losses. And losses are treated like season-enders.

Luckily, the Seminoles have that SEC scalp already this year. That helps. But if LSU loses two or three more times, then that dub is scrubbed away as well.

Why this matters now, even with FSU squarely in control of its own destiny, is that a loss is still likely. It’s 2023. Teams don’t go undefeated. And if the Seminoles lose to a Miami or a Duke or at Wake Forest or (heaven forbid) at Florida, then this sets the stage for them being knocked out of the national championship race.

Meanwhile, two and possibly three other 11-1 teams will be invited to the playoffs instead.

It just feels like 2014 again. And not just because FSU beat Clemson in overtime.

When wins start to get devalued, especially wins AT Clemson, you get the sense the Seminoles almost have to be perfect to have a chance at a playoff. I know that’s a long way away. And I absolutely understand they have to play better or it might not matter anyway.

Keep winning. And things will absolutely take care of themselves.

Lose once, though? And who could possibly know? You might get knocked out of the top 25 altogether!

These next eight games are all winnable. Sure. But at least five of them are losable, too. Maybe seven if the offense can’t figure out how to run the ball.

So, I’m not sitting here writing that Florida State is the best team in the country.

I am sitting here writing that Florida State has the best resume in the country. And the fact that the Seminoles have been knocked down the polls two weeks in a row, despite winning on the road, is absurd.

That LSU game happened. It should matter as much now as it did earlier this month.

But voters, as they always have, treat each week like they’re watching a tennis match. Heads swinging back and forth. With no continuity.

“Oh, that team is great.”

“Wait, no it’s not.”

“Wait, yeah, it kind of is.”

“Nope. It’s not. Only barely beat Clemson in Death Valley! But look at what Texas did to Baylor!”

“And Ohio State won on the last play of the game! Move ’em up! And tell Lou Holtz not to open up his trap anymore!”

It’s just so reactionary.

You want one last example of how dumb it all is?

Here’s the best one.

In the preseason, Duke was essentially ranked No. 41 in the AP poll. There were 40 teams that received more votes than the Blue Devils in those August rankings.

After beating Clemson at home to start the year, again in a game that was so, so, so much closer than the final score, Duke vaulted up to No. 21. That’s an improvement of 20 spots! In one week.

When Florida State beat that same team, at Death Valley, it dropped a spot in each poll.

I mean, what in the world are we doing here?

Beating Clemson mattered to start the month. Not so much a few weeks later. OK then.

But rest easy, FSU fans. If the Seminoles continue to win (by narrow margins or by a lot), you best believe that when the College Football Playoff rankings start coming out later this season, we might just get to see our old friend, “Game Control,” again.

Won’t that be exciting! Because, I admit, I miss the guy a little bit.

And while I write this column clearly a bit perturbed by the rankings madness at the moment, I do recognize how cool it is that I’m writing about the difference between FSU being ranked No. 3 in the country and No. 5.

First-world problems, right?

Contact senior writer Corey Clark at corey@warchant.com.

Talk about this story with other die-hard Florida State football fans on the Tribal Council.

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