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Clemson doesn't mind letting Alabama drive the rankings from the front

Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence wasn't that upset that the Tigers were punished by the pollsters for their close win at North Carolina.

After an open date, Clemson returns to action Saturday when they host Florida State.

The Tigers are second in the AP and Coaches Top 25 for the second straight week. Before the North Carolina game, the Tigers were on top of both polls but the 21-20 win over the Tar Heels did not make a good impression with the pollsters who immediately switched Alabama and Clemson in the rankings. But that's just fine with Tiger quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

"If you look at that stuff a lot, it can get frustrating just because we're the only ones who really know our team and what we're doing and how hard we are working to be the best we can be," Lawrence said Monday. 

"Also, it’s a learning process. This is a new team. It’s not the same makeup as last year. It’s kind of nice now. Everyone says we suck, so we are in the back seat. So, it’s nice, we can go to work and not worry about the No. 1 expectations and all that. So, it'll be good.”

Linebacker Isaiah Simmons, who was on the field for that key stop on UNC's 2-point conversion, is not at all surprised the Tiger program is getting criticized by national pundits.

"Each win is hard to come by," Simmons said. 

"So, the media, whatever they want to say about it is what they say. I don’t think the team, we’re really worried about that. We know what we’ve got, and we believe we've got all the ingredients that we need.”

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