Take a look at the top four programs in the 2021 AP Preseason Top 25 and you'll notice one of them is not like the others. It’s not that Ohio State is in the Midwest, while the rest are (arguably) located in the South. It’s not that Oklahoma has gone the longest among the quartet without winning a national championship.
It’s that Clemson has only recently become a “blue blood” — a powerhouse in the sport — depending on who you talk to. Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney might disagree with that assessment.