Florida State has dropped to 10th in the most recent Ap Poll, and Clemson has climbed to the number three in the very same poll. This is a typical shift in the college football world that can be explained by early season games that are too hard for teams like Florida State. They will fall out of favor just because they lost their first game, and Clemson will jump over them because they had a better showing at the beginning of the season.
Florida State could be fine
Florida State could be fine if they are able to replace Deondre Francois with someone who will step in and run their offense.
There are many reasons that they could start to fall apart, and they could lose confidence without the passer they expected to have. It is also possible that they could be amazing with a new player, and Francois could lose his job due to injury.
Clemson could fall
We have no idea if Clemson will be any good or not. They were rated well because they were the defending national champions, but that does not mean they will be any good this season. They must prove over the course of the season that they can continue to score given their opening performance, and they may not be able to score if they do not progress this season.
The ACC is pretty good
These teams need to get through Louisville and Virginia Tech or Miami to make it to the end of the season, and they may not be able to if they are stunted in their growth at the beginning of the season.
Their offenses may not continue in the trajectory that we see, and they must have continued good performances if they want to keep their ranking.
Rankings are fluid
Teams fluctuate in rankings all the time, and it is impossible to prove that they should remain in a specific spot unless they are by far and away the best team in America.
Teams that are any less than the best will shift as the season goes on, and Clemson will not stay at number three just like Florida State will not stay at number ten. They could easily swap places, and they could end up in a situation where they are fighting for the title of best team in the ACC. Going into the ACC title game without the good graces of voters makes a difference at the end of the year.
Florida State and Clemson are on a collision course for the end of the year where one of them will have a chance to get into the playoffs and the other will be left behind. They may be supplanted before then by Miami or Louisville, and they must continue scoring or be dethroned.