Clemson jumps up latest Coaches Poll

Cade Klubnik and Clemson face one of the bigger rivalry games in recent memory.

by TigerNet Staff - Nov 24, 2024, 12:51 PM

While Clemson's ACC title hopes narrowed, the College Football Playoff at-large door was knocked ajar with a chaos-filled weekend. That also meant a move up in the latest Coaches Poll.

Clemson vaulted four spots to No. 12 this week, ahead of hosting new No. 14 South Carolina this week.

Seven teams from spots 5-18 in last week's Coaches Poll lost on Saturday, including the two teams directly ahead of Clemson with Texas A&M (43-41 at Auburn) and BYU (28-23 at Arizona State).

After wins by now No. 7 Miami and No. 9 SMU over the weekend, the Mustangs clinched a spot in Charlotte. Only the Miami result at Syracuse on Saturday (3:30/ESPN) will determine Clemson's fate now, where a Hurricanes win advances them to face SMU, and a Hurricanes loss sends Clemson to the ACC title game.

A win in the ACC title game will give the Tigers an automatic bye with a top-4 seed if they are one of the four-highest ranked conference champions. They are guaranteed a CFP spot if they are one of the five highest-ranked conference champions.

The Tigers seek a boost in Tuesday's College Football Playoff rankings, after slotting up three spots to No. 17 last week. Six teams in the CFP Top 16 lost on Saturday to give Clemson some hope to grab an at-large bid with a combination of a win Saturday over South Carolina and some more favorable results around the sport.

Despite the flurry of upsets, ESPN's Playoff Predictor gives the Tigers only the 17th-best shot at making the Playoff, a percentage point above rival South Carolina (24% to 23%). With a win Saturday but no ACC Championship berth, that moves to 37%. Three-loss Alabama is at 37% right now before Tuesday's next CFP committee rankings, despite a 24-3 loss at Oklahoma on Saturday. 9-2 BYU is also just ahead of the Tigers at 26%, still seeking a Big 12 title game berth in a four-way tie at 6-2 in league play going into the final regular season weekend.

ESPN's FPI gives Clemson a 56.7% win projection against the Gamecocks at noon on Saturday in Death Valley (ESPN), and the Tigers are a 2.5-point favorite currently.

Clemson was No. 12 in the National Football Foundation Super 16 Poll also.

Coaches Poll - 11/24

1. Oregon (55)

2. Ohio State

3. Texas

4. Penn State

5. Notre Dame

6. Georgia

7. Miami

8. Tennessee

9. SMU

10. Indiana

11. Boise State

12. Clemson

13. Alabama

14. South Carolina

15. Arizona State

16. Ole Miss

17. Iowa State

18. Tulane

19. Texas A&M

20. BYU

21. UNLV

22. Army

23. Memphis

24. Missouri

25. Illinois

Schools Dropped Out

No. 18 Colorado; No. 25 Kansas State;

Others Receiving Votes

Kansas State 124; Colorado 115; Duke 31; Syracuse 19; Louisville 8; Louisiana 7; Washington State 6; LSU 3; Miami (OH) 1; James Madison 1; Iowa 1; Georgia Tech 1; Baylor 1;

List Of Voters

The US LBM Board of Coaches for the 2024 season: Tim Albin, Ohio; Major Applewhite, South Alabama; Tim Beck, Coastal Carolina; Mike Bloomgren, Rice; David Braun, Northwestern; Jeff Brohm, Louisville; Fran Brown, Syracuse; Neal Brown, West Virginia; Troy Calhoun, Air Force; Jamey Chadwell, Liberty; Bob Chesney, James Madison; Chris Creighton, Eastern Michigan; Sonny Cumbie, Louisiana Tech; Spencer Danielson, Boise State; Ryan Day, Ohio State; Kalen DeBoer, Alabama; Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State; Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri; Mike Elko, Texas A&M; Tony Elliott, Virginia; Jedd Fisch, Washington; James Franklin, Penn State; Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame; Willie Fritz, Houston; Alex Golesh, South Florida; Tyson Helton, Western Kentucky; Mike Houston, East Carolina; Butch Jones, Arkansas State; Brent Key, Georgia Tech; GJ Kinne, Texas State; Chris Klieman, Kansas State; Dan Lanning, Oregon; Rhett Lashlee, SMU; Clark Lea, Vanderbilt; Lance Leipold, Kansas; Pete Lembo, Buffalo; Sean Lewis, San Diego State; Mike Locksley, Maryland; Mike MacIntyre, Florida International; Gus Malzahn, Central Florida; Chuck Martin, Miami (Ohio); Derek Mason, Middle Tennessee; Joey McGuire, Texas Tech; Bronco Mendenhall, New Mexico; Jeff Monken, Army; Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh; Ken Niumatalolo, San Jose State; Barry Odom, UNLV; Gerad Parker, Troy; Brent Pry, Virginia Tech; Kirby Smart, Georgia; Mark Stoops, Kentucky; Jon Sumrall, Tulane; Lance Taylor, Western Michigan; Jeff Traylor, Texas-San Antonio.