One Thing To Know About Clemson Tigers College Football Playoff Outlook

The Clemson Tigers have a little more wiggle room than other College Football Playoff contenders.

Oct 12, 2024; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; A battle scarred Clemson Tigers helmet during the second half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

There aren’t many teams that are playing as well as the Clemson Tigers currently are in college football.

Since a disappointing season opener against the Georgia Bulldogs, they have been dismantling all of their opponents. Riding a five-game winning streak since that loss, they have won each game by at least 16, dominating in every fashion.

As a result of their performance, the Tigers are safely inside the midseason College Football Playoff field. They are slowly moving their way up, as they are now holding down the No. 8 seed, taking advantage of the shortcomings other teams are having.

One of the teams above them in the midseason projections is the Miami Hurricanes, who will be competing with Clemson atop the ACC. But, they haven’t been anywhere near as dominant as Clemson has been with close calls against the California Golden Bears and Virginia Tech Hokies.

What could change the projection for Dabo Swinney and crew in the future? Their toughest game remaining, in the opinion of Heather Dinich of ESPN, is November 16th when they will be paying a visit to the currently undefeated Pittsburgh Panthers.

That road trip, along with their annual rivalry game against the South Carolina Gamecocks, will be something to pay attention to according to the ESPN senior writer.

“Clemson's November games against Pitt and South Carolina give the Tigers slightly more wiggle room than Miami as an at-large contender if they don't win the ACC -- at least right now. The committee takes into account rivalry games, and Clemson still has South Carolina, which proved it has a defense against Bama on Saturday. Getting a road win against a ranked Pitt team that is currently undefeated would also be valued by the group,” wrote Dinich.

The Panthers are the only ranked opponent remaining on the Tigers’ schedule. It would be a major resume booster to win that game against a quality conference opponent. Louisville and Virginia are the only teams with winning records, as things are set up well for them down the stretch.

If they can handle business in all of their ACC games, pressure will be off once the South Carolina matchup comes. They will of course want to win the rivalry game, but it wouldn’t have much of an impact on their championship game standing if they defeat Pittsburgh.

Of course, the easiest way to qualify for the playoff is to just keep winning games. Clemson won’t have to rely on the committee if they run the table in their conference schedule.