Clemson and South Carolina football received high praise from respective conference coaches after their strong 2024 seasons.
SMU’s Rhett Lashlee voted Clemson No. 7, its highest ranking, on his US LBM Coaches Poll final ballot, which were collected and released by USA TODAY Sports. Georgia’s Kirby Smart voted South Carolina No. 13, its highest ranking.
There were 53 coaches who voted on the 2024 poll as members of the US LBM Board of Coaches. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and South Carolina coach Shane Beamer were not voters this season.
Clemson finished tied for No. 11 in the final coaches poll of the 2024 season, and South Carolina ranked No. 19. Here are some highlights from ACC, SEC and CFP coaches poll ballots.
These coaches ranked Clemson, South Carolina the highest
Three coaches ranked Clemson No. 7 on their ballots.
Lashlee voted Clemson No. 7 and his team at No. 9. The Tigers defeated the Mustangs 34-31 in the ACC championship.
UNLV’s Barry Odom and Central Florida’s Gus Malzahn both voted Clemson at No. 7.
Five coaches ranked South Carolina No. 13 on their ballots.
Smart ranked South Carolina No. 13 and his team at No. 4. The Bulldogs didn’t face the Gamecocks in 2024.
Air Force’s Troy Calhoun, Louisiana Tech’s Sonny Cumbie, Buffalo’s Pete Lembo and New Mexico’s Bronco Mendenhall all ranked South Carolina at No. 13 too.
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These coaches ranked Clemson, South Carolina the lowest
Clemson’s lowest ranking was No. 20 by Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer.
DeBoer placed Clemson behind Alabama (No. 15). He has never faced Clemson in his coaching career but took over Alabama, a team that has faced the Tigers multiple times in the national championship, after Nick Saban retired.
South Carolina’s lowest ranking was No. 25, and only two coaches voted the Gamecocks that low.
Odom, who coached in the SEC at Missouri from 2016-19, had South Carolina at No. 25 behind UNLV (No. 17). He had five SEC teams ahead of the Gamecocks, including Ole Miss (No. 9), Tennessee (No. 13) and Missouri (No. 15).
James Madison’s Bob Chesney also slotted South Carolina at No. 25.
Where Ryan Day, CFP coaches ranked Clemson, South Carolina
Eight coaches of College Football Playoff teams voted in the coaches poll.
Lashlee ranked Clemson at No. 7 and South Carolina at No. 21. Smart voted the Tigers No. 14 and the Gamecocks No. 13.
Ohio State’s Ryan Day ranked Clemson at No. 11 and South Carolina at No. 18. His Buckeyes won the national championship on Monday.
Penn State’s James Franklin voted Clemson No. 16 and South Carolina No. 15. Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman placed Clemson at No. 13 and South Carolina at No. 16.
Boise State’s Spencer Danielson ranked his own team at No. 6 and voted Clemson No. 11 and South Carolina No. 21.
Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham ranked his own team at No. 5 too and voted Clemson No. 9 and South Carolina No. 22. The Tigers would have faced the Sun Devils in the CFP quarterfinals if they would have beat Texas in the first round.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football, South Carolina highest, lowest ranking in coach poll
