Clemson Tigers Have Blemishes To Overcome in College Football Playoff Seeding

The Clemson Tigers have some work to do to catch the upper-echelon teams in the College Football Playoff projections.

Oct 5, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney talks with quarterback Cade Klubnik (2) during the first half against the Florida State Seminoles at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. / Melina Myers-Imagn Images

At the midway point of the 2024 college football season, the Clemson Tigers are in a great spot following a Week 7 victory over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

A 49-14 win is their fifth in a row, as they moved to 4-0 in ACC play and have successfully bounced back after a brutal season-opening loss against the Georgia Bulldogs. There has been a lot to like about their performance as they are clicking on all cylinders.

They have given up 20 or fewer points in four of the five games with 40+ points scored. That has resulted in victories of at least 16 points in every game since the Georgia loss.

Ranked No. 10 heading into the week, they are going to move into the single-digits in the next AP Poll. But, the seeding that fans are most concerned with is the College Football Playoff.

Right now, Heather Dinich of ESPN has the Tigers ranked as the No. 8 team in the bracket. Slowly but surely, they continue moving up the seeding lines. If they continue playing at this level, a bye in the first round or a home game at Death Valley is certainly within reach.

However, there are some blemishes with their resume that Dinich highlighted that could result in them hitting a ceiling compared to other teams vying for spots in the playoffs.

“Since the season-opening loss to Georgia, Clemson has reeled off five straight wins and scored at least 40 points in four of them. The Tigers also added back-to-back road wins to their résumé. Still, none of those wins have been against ranked opponents and none of them have a winning record. That's something that will hold them back in the committee meeting room, especially when most, if not all, contenders ranked above them have played a tougher schedule and/or are undefeated. The committee would also still honor Georgia's season-opening win against the Tigers, and Clemson probably would be behind Bama because the Tide was able to beat Georgia and Clemson did not.”

While their resume may not stack up right now, there will be opportunities to improve things over the next few weeks.

A road game against the currently undefeated and ranked Pittsburgh Panthers on November 16th looms large. A convincing victory in their end-of-season rivalry game against the South Carolina Gamecocks could help them catch the Alabama Crimson Tide, who struggled with their SEC foes in Week 7.

Vaulting up the ladder may prove difficult, but the Tigers will certainly have a strong enough resume for at least an at-large bid if they can qualify for the ACC Championship Game at the end of the season.