Updated Clemson Playoff projections

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Can Clemson knock Miami off atop the ACC title projections?

That's the calculus for current College Football Playoff picks, where a majority take the Hurricanes to win in Charlotte's ACC Championship Game and Clemson to hit the road as an at-large team in the new 12-team CFP format.

The top four conference champions will occupy the top four seeds in the CFP and get a bye, and according to the AP Poll currently, those conferences by current conference leader are the Big Ten (No. 1 Oregon), ACC (No. 9 Clemson), Big 12 (No. 10 Iowa State) and SEC (No. 14 Texas A&M). By that measure, the Mountain West and No. 17 Boise State are the next-closest to securing a top-four bye. Although closest to the SEC's Texas A&M now, the Big 12 and two teams on the edge of the Top 10 are easier to pass, with the SEC having five teams ranked ahead of the Broncos. The highest-ranked non-Power champ in the final rankings last year was No. 23 (Liberty), but Navy (23) and Army (24) also join Boise in the AP Top 25 at this point.

ESPN's prognosticators each have Clemson as an at-large nine seed, heading to either 8-seed Indiana or Tennessee in the first round. Both have the Tigers advancing on to face Oregon in the Rose Bowl, where the Ducks win.

CBS Sports predicts a first Clemson trip to Penn State as a 10-seed, with the winner going on to the Rose Bowl to face Ohio State.

247Sports skips the CFP first round for the Tigers and picks them to win the ACC, then facing Ohio State in a presumed Peach Bowl. Ohio State is predicted to move on to the CFP semifinals, however.

The Action Network goes for option No. 3 and Clemson hosting a Playoff game versus LSU, a preview of their 2025 season opener in Death Valley. The website lists LSU as a 0.5-point favorite for that matchup currently, but Brett McMurphy also projects a Clemson-Oregon Rose Bowl meeting, where the Ducks move on to face Ohio State in the CFP semi Cotton Bowl.

ESPN's Playoff Predictor gives Miami the third-best odds to make the field currently (86%), while Clemson is down at 41% at 14th-best. The same metric gives the Tigers at least an 81% shot if they finish the regular season 11-1.

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