Here’s how the Clemson Tigers made it to the College Football Playoff after being listed as the No. 8 team in the latest rankings.
The Clemson Tigers lost their first game of the season in Week 9 in convincing fashion against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. With this loss, many expected Clemson’s chances of making the college football game to be dead. That wasn’t the case, given all the messy things that happened in the weeks following the aforementioned game.
Now, in the most recent playoff rankings, Clemson is ranked eighth in the entire nation. Shockingly, they still rank behind Alabama in the rankings.
Bud doesn’t worry Clemson fans, they still have a shot at making the playoff, and they need those things to happen.
How can Clemson make the College Football Playoff?
First things first, and this is a non-negotiable – they need to win their remaining games this season. This is correct. They need to defeat the South Carolina Gamecocks this weekend, the same team that blew out the Tennessee Volunteers last weekend. Next, and most importantly, they have to defeat the North Carolina Tar Heels in the ACC Championship Game on December 3rd.
For that, they need two of these three things to happen:
- The loser of Ohio State vs. Michigan blows up the game or forfeits the winner of the Big Ten Championship game
- The USC Trojans lose either to Notre Dame in Rivalry Week, or in the Pac-12 Championship Game
- The TCU Horned Frogs lose either to the Iowa Hurricanes or in the Big 12 Championship Game
Fortunately for Clemson, two of the top four teams are facing off in college football’s biggest rivalry game. But they’ll need to count on the loser from Ohio State against Michigan to defeat in huge fashion. We are talking about blast loss. Either that or they need the winner to lose to their opponents in the Big Ten Championship Game.
The USC Trojans are moving up the standings, as they benefit from a loss to Tennessee in Week 12, and Caleb Williams plays like the favorite Heisman. But their path is far from easy. They have to face Notre Dame, who is doing the best they can after a slow start to the season. Next, they face Oregon, Washington, or Utah. Clemson would need USC to lose one of those games.
Clemson needs TCU to take a loss in the next couple of weeks. They are perhaps the least convincing of the undefeated teams, so a loss could eliminate them from the final showdown altogether.
So there are Clemson fans. You need the team to win their final two games of the season and for two of the above scenarios to show up for the Tigers for a playoff berth.
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