Clemson Believed To Be in ‘Horrific’ Position Regarding CFP Hopes

After losing to Louisville, Clemson will have to hope for a miracle to get into the College Football Playoffs.

Nov 2, 2024; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Louisville Cardinals running back Isaac Brown (25) runs the ball against Clemson Tigers cornerback Jeadyn Lukus (10) during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. / Ken Ruinard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Clemson put themselves in a terrible position on Saturday, losing to a Louisville team that shouldn't have been on the same field as them.

Louisville is a decent football team, but they're not comparable to Clemson. Unfortunately, that isn't how things played out, as college football has been filled with upsets throughout the year.

It looked like Clemson would avoid being the next team on that list of major upsets, but that wasn't the case, and as a result, they might be left out of the College Football Playoff. 

There's a slight chance that Clemson could make the ACC Championship Game, but a few crazy things would have to happen. It isn't out of the picture yet, but they can't bank on that happening.

At this point, all the Tigers can do is go out and try to prove to the committee that they had a slip-up and deserve to still be one of the 12 teams left when the time comes.

However, all indications point to that not being the case. Even if Clemson were to win out, if they don't make the ACC Title Game, a two-loss team that got dismantled by Georgia and lost to an average Louisville team doesn't deserve to be in.

Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY agrees, writing that Clemson is at a "horrific starting point" after the first CFP picture was released earlier in the week.

"The No. 23 Tigers did this to themselves with Saturday’s loss to No. 22 Louisville. That second defeat on the year sent Clemson tumbling out of the ACC championship picture, leaving No. 4 Miami and SMU on a collision course for an automatic playoff berth. The hope before Tuesday night was that Clemson would be close enough to SMU to take advantage should the Mustangs stumble this month or be blown out by the Hurricanes in the ACC championship game. But while the Tigers have the chance to add two high-quality wins against No. 18 Pittsburgh and South Carolina, the current gap is too much to overcome. This is a horrific starting point for Dabo Swinney and Clemson."

If Clemson had taken care of business on Saturday, they likely would've been one of the top 12 teams in the first published bracket. Instead, they're barely in the top 25, which just goes to show how the committee views them.

Never say never, as there have been wild upsets every week, and a few of the top 20 teams could fall out of the race, but this was as bad of a loss for Clemson as they've had in a very long time.