Clemson Tigers Predicted to Miss Playoffs After Deflating Loss

The Clemson Tigers are in a much worse position for their playoff hopes now than they were entering the weekend.

Nov 2, 2024; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers wide receiver Antonio Williams (0) reacts after missing a pass in the end zone against the Louisville Cardinals during the fourth quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images / Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images

The Clemson Tigers entered the weekend on a six-game win streak after dropping their first game of the season, needing a win to keep their hopes high for a spot in the newly expanded College Football Playoffs.

Those hopes were brought crashing down Saturday night, with their loss to the Louisville Cardinals, their first ever in the history of the matchup.

It was a poor showing in what can only be considered a trap game, one that the Tigers stumbled into blindly and are now walking away with a much tougher path to the playoffs.

Julia Stumbaugh of Bleacher Report thinks that the path for Clemson is much too tough, as the writer released their latest College Football Playoff projections and the Tigers were nowhere to be found on it.

In fact, Stumbaugh only had one team from the Atlantic Coast Conference making the playoffs, the Miami Hurricanes, getting in as the ACC Champions.

While that path for Clemson has become much harder, it is still one that is open, albeit not as wide as it was.

The SMU Mustangs have surprised the nation with their dominance this year, continuing that showing Saturday with a 48-25 stampede over the Pittsburgh Panthers to remain undefeated in conference play.

The Tigers need one of either the Hurricanes or the Mustangs to take a loss down the stretch, along with winning out, to still have a chance at playoff contention, as their only way in now seems to be winning the conference championship.

The schedule for Clemson is not as promising as it was entering the weekend, but with games against the 5-4 Virginia Tech Hokies, and the 5-3 South Carolina Gamecocks, it is not impossible.

The hard part for the Tigers will be getting past the Panthers, who did lose yesterday, but it will be one of the hardest tests Clemson has faced this year with the rest of their schedule being pretty weak.

The two teams that the Tigers need to lose have much easier schedules down the stretch, and only three games each compared to Clemson's four with how the bye weeks fell this year.

It has been a crazy season for the Tigers, and a massive turnaround from their 9-4 campaign last year, and it is still not over yet.

There is still a lot of football left to play, but the games may end for Clemson much sooner than anyone expected entering this weekend.