Sports Illustrated Ranking Alabama Ahead of Clemson is Beyond Senseless

Who won the College Football Playoff National Championship last season? That would be the Clemson Tigers. In fact, they won it by a lot. While they did lose a lot of talent from their defense heading into the new season, they still have Trevor Lawrence behind center, a man who has a chance to lock in his status as the best quarterback in college football and perhaps even lift the Heisman Trophy this fall.

So, why did Sports Illustrated rank the Alabama Crimson Tide No. 1 in its preseason top 25 poll?

Our preseason Top 25 is here, complete with SI's national championship prediction https://t.co/qAJlhOhB9D
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) August 6, 2019

Don't get me wrong, Alabama and Clemson should have the top two spots in the rankings, and the Crimson Tide do have a ton of talent returning to Tuscaloosa, led by superstar QB Tua Tagovailoa. But given that Clemson is the defending champ and still loaded, there just isn't a compelling reason to unseat them at the top.

Not yet, anyway.

If these roles were reversed, you can bet that Bama would get the benefit of the doubt and occupy the SI penthouse.

Clemson and Alabama are 1-2 in the first coaches poll. The first rankings from the CFP selection committee will be released on Tuesday, Nov. 5. If Clemson is 9-0 and Alabama is 8-0 at that point, who will the committee pick as No. 1?
— Tony Barnhart (@MrCFB) August 1, 2019

A lot can happen between now and January 2020, but it might be a shock if these two teams don't meet in the national championship for the fourth time in five years. They really are that smashingly good.

With that in mind, perhaps the preseason pecking order just doesn't matter at all. But Dabo Swinney and Co. are surely using this slight as motivation all the same.