Clemson Tigers Could Still Make Playoffs, Need Lots of Help

The Clemson Tigers lost Saturday for the first time since week one, but it has not completely crushed their playoff chances.

Nov 2, 2024; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney reacts during the fourth quarter against the Louisville Cardinals at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images / Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images

The craziness that is the 2024 college football season continued this week, with the Clemson Tigers being one of the top teams to get upset with their 33-21 loss to the Louisville Cardinals in Death Valley.

It was only their second loss of the year, and first since dropping their week one matchup with the Georgia Bulldogs, and it has many questioning whether the team ever was really legit this year or if their success came on the back of a weak schedule.

Now holding a 6-2 record overall, and a 5-1 record in Atlantic Coast Conference play, the chances that the Tigers make it into the College Football Playoffs have drastically shrunk, though they do still have a chance.

Ralph D. Russo of The Athletic broke down what we learned from this week in all of college football, including from Clemson, and laid out their path to the playoff that does still exist.

"The Tigers (6-2, 5-1) are still in contention for an ACC championship and Playoff entry through that path," writes Russo, but Mock’s projections have the Tigers out of the field with a 29 percent chance to make it. They’ll need help with both No. 5 Miami and No. 20 SMU still rolling."

Earlier in the day, things were looking up for the Tigers before they even took the field as the Duke Blue Devils seemingly had the Miami Hurricanes on the ropes, going into the half with a 21-17 lead, but the second half showed otherwise with the Hurricanes outscoring the Blue Devils 36-10 on their way to a 53-31 win.

The SMU Mustangs did help Clemson Saturday with their 48-25 trouncing of the Pittsburgh Panthers but is now nothing but a bittersweet memory after the Tigers' loss.

Potentially the most disturbing thing to happen on Saturday was the Cardinals putting up 210 rushing yards on what everyone thought was another spectacular defense under Dabo Swinney.

“It’s coaching when people can run the ball on you like that,” Swinney told reporters. “That’s on the head coach. That’s been my whole life in the game of football.”

The loss to Louisville, the first in the history of ever, could be a huge turning point in the season for Clemson.

They do still have a chance at making the College Football Playoff, however, and if their week one loss was any indication, we could see another six-game win streak for the program start next week.