Clemson Predicted To Miss College Football Playoff Due to Schedule

Clemson's below-average schedule in the ACC could hurt their chances of making the College Football Playoff.

Oct 5, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Clemson Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik (2) before a game against the Florida State Seminoles at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. / Melina Myers-Imagn Images

The goal for Clemson entering the season was to make the College Football Playoff.

Five games into the year, it's not the craziest suggestion to say that Clemson has played excellent football outside of their loss to Georgia. However, it's also possible that because of their loss to Georgia, they won't make the College Football Playoff if they don't win the ACC Title Game.

The winner of the ACC Championship Game will get an automatic bid to the College Football Playoff.

Outside of Miami, there doesn't seem to be a team in the ACC that should compete with Clemson. They don't play each other in the regular season, so meeting in the title game would be the only possible outcome before the CFP.

As seen multiple times throughout the past few weeks in the college football world, there have been more upsets than ever before. That doesn't help a team like Clemson, as they could be the next one it happens to, but there's also a reason why that benefits them.

If the Tigers simply take care of business, no College Football Playoff committee voter should be able to hold that against them. There'd be no way a voter could say that Clemson doesn't deserve to get in with only two losses when let's say, they only lost to Georgia in Week 1 and Miami in the title game.

That wouldn't be fair after Alabama lost to Vanderbilt.

However, it's also important to note that SEC bias is real. The committee loves the SEC. Perhaps that isn't unfair, as the conference is the best in the country, but it's the truth of the situation.

Still, keeping a two-loss Clemson team out, if it even gets to that point, would be an embarrassment by the committee.

Nonetheless, John Buhler of FanSided believes that could be the case.

"You can only control what you can control, but this is not looking good at all for the Clemson Tigers. At 4-1 on the season, and even 3-0 in ACC play, the No. 10 Tigers are probably going to need to win out if they want a serious shot at making the College Football Playoff. This is because their lone loss on the year was a brutal one to Georgia in the non-conference, as well as a soft remaining schedule. Look. This just sucks for Clemson, but it is the way it is. While we should give them credit for scheduling Georgia, South Carolina and even Appalachian State in the non-conference, their ACC slate is not doing them any favors."

His reasoning isn't off, as strength of schedule certainly plays a factor in teams' getting into the 12-team playoff picture.

To avoid any risk of that happening, Clemson needs to focus on taking care of business. They've seemed ready to play against every lesser opponent they've taken on so far, which is a good sign moving forward, as they have multiple games coming up where that'll continue to be the case.