Clemson Tigers “Firmly in the Mix” for a College Football Playoff Spot

The Clemson Tigers have not looked back since dropping their week one contest and have shown the world that they are a force to be reckoned with.

Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The Clemson Tigers and head coach Dabo Swinney started the 2024 season off on the wrong foot with a 34-3 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs.

While many viewed that as more of the same from last year, Swinney knew that this year's Tigers had different stripes.

It has been nothing short of an onslaught ever since, tallying five straight wins with a combined score of 243-96.

On both sides of the ball, Clemson is firing on all cylinders, and they do not seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

Their success this year has many hoping for a ticket to the 2024 College Football Playoff, and they just might be in luck.

In a recent article for ESPN, Andrea Adelson said that we should be keeping an eye on the Tigers down the stretch.

"FPI gives Clemson a 33.9% chance to win the ACC, just behind Miami at 34.9%," writes Adelson, "its playoff odds? Those are 44.6%."

And with the schedule that the Tigers have left this year, those odds are only going to go up.

Junior quarterback Cade Klubnik has been a massive part of the program's success this season.

After finishing the 2023 campaign with 2,844 passing yards, 19 touchdowns, nine interceptions, and a 126.3 rating, the junior is on pace to shatter all of those numbers this year, while possibly garnering some Heisman votes along the way.

Currently sitting on 1,528 yards, 17 touchdowns, two interceptions, and a 164.9 rating, Klubnik is on pace for 3,056 yards, 34 touchdowns, and only four interceptions just through the regular season.

Once you consider a potential Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Game and any other postseason games that Clemson may play, he could realistically break 4,000 yards passing and 40 touchdowns while throwing less than 10 interceptions.

There is still a long way to go before the season is over, and the senior running back has some milestones of his own to accomplish along the way.

Currently sitting on 604 rushing yards on 87 carries with four touchdowns, Mafah has more than an outside shot at passing 1,000 rushing yards on less than 200 carries.

10 touchdowns will be a stretch with his current pace (eight), but if he can step it up, a 10 touchdown season is not completely out of the question, especially with how potent the Tigers' offense has been this year.

It has been an exciting season for Clemson to this point, and with the way that they have been playing since the loss in week one, their season may not be coming to an end until the early weeks of January.