Potential Paths for Clemson Tigers to Secure Playoff Bye Week in CFP

The Clemson Tigers have an excellent chance to secure a bye week if they win the ACC Title.

Nov 30, 2024; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney calls a time out during the fourth quarter at Memorial Stadium. / Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images

The Clemson Tigers will be facing the SMU Mustangs next Saturday night with the ACC Championship and an automatic bid into the College Football Playoff on the line. 

It was a wild turn of events for the Tigers during rivalry week, as they went from losing a heartbreaking game against the South Carolina Gamecocks, to controlling their own destiny in the CFP. 

In the loss to the Gamecocks, Clemson unfortunately blew a lead late in the fourth quarter, as their rushing defense once again let them down. A lot of credit has to go to quarterback LaNorris Sander of South Carolina, as he had an excellent game and might have helped secure a spot for his team in the CFP. 

Heading into championship week, the first order of business for the Tigers will be to obviously win their game. However, they have some potentially favorable outcomes that could help in the CFP. 

If Clemson wins, they will have a few different avenues to get a bye and a Top-4 seed. 

The first is that the win over the Mustangs is seen as a bigger game and a better resume builder than whoever wins the Big 12 Championship between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the Iowa State Cyclones. Both of those teams are just narrowly ranked ahead of the Tigers, and with the Mustangs being the highest ranked of the four, a win for Clemson might be enough. 

Another possible way for the Tigers to get a bye is that the Boise State Broncos lose to the UNLV Rebels. 

While it looked for a while that their chances of making the CFP were done, the Tigers now all of a sudden have the potential to be a Top-4 seed and get a bye week. 

It was quite the turn of events over a couple of hour span, and Clemson must now shake off the bad loss to the Gamecocks and prepare for the Mustangs. 

SMU has been superb all year long, as shown by their undefeated record in the ACC with two wins against teams that were in the Top-25 when they played them. 

While the potential scenarios of getting a bye in the CFP is great, the Tigers must first win the ACC Championship and let everything else fall into place after that.