ESPN Analyst Reveals What Would Make Clemson Tigers a Lock for Playoff

An ESPN analyst has revealed the season outcome the Clemson Tigers need to be a lock to make the College Football Playoff.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney talks with players during August practice in Clemson, S.C. Friday August 2, 2024. / Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Clemson Tigers are one of the many teams that will be vying for a spot in the expanded College Football Playoff this season. With the field tripling from four to 12 teams, teams will be afforded a little more wiggle room during the season and still have a chance to vie for the national title.

With fall camps getting underway last week, the Tigers look like a team that will be right on the fringe of the top 12 to start the season. Many preseason ranking predictions have them somewhere around No. 15.

That means there will be some work to do during the regular season to push into the top 12. With a stellar defense in place, Dabo Swinney needs to find a way to get his offense on track so that his team is as dangerous as possible.

Should Clemson earn a spot in the College Football Playoff, they will have certainly earned it. Their schedule has some tough spots, ranked as one of the toughest in the nation heading into the season.

None are more difficult than opening the season against the Georgia Bulldogs in Atlanta. A trip to Tallahassee to play the Florida State Seminoles on October 5th is another daunting task. 

The Tigers will host the North Carolina State Wolfpack on September 21st. And of course rivalry week for their final regular season game against SEC foe, the South Carolina Gamecocks, to name a few.

What does Clemson have to do to secure a spot in the College Football Playoff this season? In the opinion of ESPN analyst Greg McElroy, they just need to handle business outside of their two toughest games on the schedule.

“I look at their schedule. I think it's extremely difficult," McElroy said. "You have a non-conference game against the Georgia Bulldogs in Week 1. You go on the road to Florida State. Those are their two toughest games. But in the event in which they lost their two toughest games...they're still in a really good position to get to the College Football Playoff.

"Why? Because they're going to have wins against Louisville, they're going to have a win against NC State, they're going to win on the road at Virginia Tech, and they're going to have a win against South Carolina. So I think at 10-2 with that schedule, Clemson's in. The 26th-toughest schedule in the country? Clemson's in."

The route that McElroy laid out would likely result in Clemson receiving a bye into the quarterfinals. It is fair to assume the ACC Champion will receive one of the top four spots in the bracket.

While the Tigers’ schedule is tough in 2024, it isn’t as daunting as it possibly could have been. They don’t have to make any trips out west after realignment added Stanford, California and SMU. Stanford is coming east during this rotation, saving Clemson from the daunting travel.