Clemson's 13-0 and hasn't really struggled all season -- so why don't we trust them?

By Stewart Mandel
Published

Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from Stewart Mandel's Dec. 9 Mailbag. For his full Mailbag, click here, and to submit a question for next week, email Stewart.Mandel@fox.com.

This year, I feel less confident in top-ranked Clemson -- the only undefeated team -- to win a playoff game than I do any other team in the field. Last year I also felt less confident about the only undefeated team, Florida State, winning a game than I did any other team in the field. Talking with other college football fans, many feel the same way I do. Why are we so skeptical of undefeated teams?

-- Shane Hart, Brookeville, Md.

I don't think you're skeptical of undefeated teams; I think you're skeptical of undefeated ACC teams. Despite the conference's recent success -- particularly against its SEC rivals -- it clearly remains fifth out of five in terms of national respect. So when Florida State struggled last year against teams like Louisville and Boston College, many of us read into it (correctly, it turned out) more so than we did, for example, Tennessee putting a scare into Alabama this year.

Mind you, I don't view 2015 Clemson in nearly the same light I did 2014 Florida State, a talented but flawed team not unlike this year's Ohio State team. The Tigers haven't "struggled" with anybody. With the lone exception of an early Thursday night game at Louisville, they handily beat the teams they're supposed to and earned their wins over three Top 10-caliber opponents.

If you stripped the name off the top of its schedule and just looked at the results, I'm guessing you'd probably view Clemson as the clear playoff favorite. But because it's Clemson, an ACC school and relative newcomer to the national stage, many of us still won't trust the Tigers until we actually see them hoisting the trophy.

Stewart Mandel is a senior college sports columnist for FOXSports.com. He covered college football and basketball for 15 years at Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter @slmandel and Facebook. Send emails and Mailbag questions to Stewart.Mandel@fox.com.