I agree 100% that Clemson can’t be blamed for the ACC being down.
The SEC on the other hand needs to get some heat for their scheduling. There are not many teams scheduling one FCS team and two or three Group of five patsies that should be given a top 25 ranking after losing 4 games. Just SEC teams get that advantage.
Northwestern played 9 conference games + Notre Dame, Duke, and Akron. 8-4 was pretty darn good.
Even Alabama payed The Citadel. Not exactly an FCS powerhouse.