Where Clemson fell in latest College Football Playoff rankings |
The College Football Playoff committee set the stage for Clemson’s seeding possibilities with a potential win over SMU in Saturday’s ACC Championship game (8 p.m./ABC).
Clemson (9-3) was ranked No. 17 on Tuesday, dropping five spots following a 17-14 home rivalry loss to South Carolina. The Tigers are looking to get into the Top 4 ranked conference champions for an automatic bye to the quarterfinals and a Top 4 seed. The last required, fifth highest-ranked conference champ will then be seeded according to where they fall in the CFP rankings overall, to as low as No. 12 and a first-round road trip. The Tigers sit a spot behind the Big 12 Championship duo of No. 15 Arizona State and No. 16 Iowa State (noon Saturday/ABC). In the Mountain West title game, No. 20 UNLV takes on No. 10 Boise State on Friday (8 p.m./FOX). The new rankings shut the door on any at-large bid for the now No. 14 South Carolina Gamecocks, who were behind two more SEC 9-3 teams that had a head-to-head win over them (No. 11 Alabama and No. 13 Ole Miss). Miami was also shut out after falling six spots to No. 12. The final Playoff rankings will come on Sunday at noon (ESPN) with the 12-team bracket and dates, as well as the corresponding bowl matchups after that field is selected. After Saturday's action, The Athletic's CFP projection model bumped Clemson up to a 53% chance to make the playoffs, with its one hope being a win over new No. 8 SMU in the ACC Championship. ESPN's Playoff Predictor has the Tigers at a 42% chance. SMU is given 89% and 69% CFP odds respectively with those outlets, with a good chance at sticking in the field as an at-large team. In the traditional polls, Clemson was ranked No. 17 and No. 18 in the AP and Coaches on Sunday, respectively. The SP+ and FPI metrics rank Clemson 15th. The CFP will play the first round on campus sites, with seeds 5-8 hosting seeds 9-12. The quarterfinal round will be hosted in bowl sites, with the Rose, Peach, Sugar, and Fiesta bowls, and then the semifinals will be in the Cotton and Orange bowls. The national championship will be held on Jan. 20 in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Peach Bowl is the likely destination for the Tigers if they were to earn a bye to the quarterfinal round. 2024 CFP committee: Chris Ault (former head coach and athletics director, University of Nevada), Chet Gladchuk (athletics director, U.S. Naval Academy), Jim Grobe (former head coach, Ohio University, Wake Forest and Baylor), Warde Manuel (chair) (athletics director, University of Michigan), Randall McDaniel (College and Pro Football Hall of Fame member and former All-American offensive lineman, Arizona State University); Gary Pinkel (former head coach, University of Toledo and University of Missouri); Mack Rhoades (athletics director, Baylor University); Mike Riley (former college head coach, Oregon State and Nebraska, as well as head coach in the NFL, CFL, WLAF, AAF and USFL), David Sayler (athletics director, Miami University, OH), Will Shields (College and Pro Football Hall of Fame member and former All-American offensive lineman, University of Nebraska), Kelly Whiteside (professor in Sports Media and Journalism, Montclair State University; longtime sportswriter, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and Newsday), Carla Williams (athletics director, University of Virginia) and Hunter Yurachek (athletics director, University of Arkansas). Playoff Top 25 - 12/3 1. Oregon 2. Texas 3. Penn State 4. Notre Dame 5. Georgia 6. Ohio State 7. Tennessee 8. SMU 9. Indiana 10. Boise State 11. Alabama 12. Miami 13. Ole Miss 14. South Carolina 15. Arizona State 16. Iowa State 17. Clemson 18. BYU 19. Missouri 20. UNLV 21. Illinois 22. Syracuse 23. Colorado 24. Army 25. Memphis Updated College Football Playoff bracket based on this week's committee rankings: pic.twitter.com/GQmCmV9rYF
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