Clemson's play off expectations

[cockymom2boys]

With Clemson's strength of schedule being so poor, and the loss to UGA, what will have to happen for them to make it to the playoffs?
Obviously they can't slip up and lose another.
So will a 2 loss team with a tougher schedule beat a 1 loss/ACC champion Clemson team?

 

[vehemon]

With Clemson's strength of schedule being so poor, and the loss to UGA, what will have to happen for them to make it to the playoffs?
Obviously they can't slip up and lose another.
So will a 2 loss team with a tougher schedule beat a 1 loss/ACC champion Clemson team?

It's the reason why they would never leave the ACC.

If they run the rest of their schedule, they will be in.

 

[Contentment Blues]

Clemson is in regardless of SOS. If not, the CFP will become the CFP presented by NewSpring Church..

 

[Horseshoe 04]

Free Shoes isn’t going to roll over so easily

 

[Lurker123]

It always depends on the other spots.

Bama is in, osu has no real competition, so that's two.

You would need two undefeated Champs in ou and a P12 champ to bump clemson. And rarely do so many teams go undefeated. IMHO, Clemson will get in over a one loss champ from the the other 2 conferences because of recent success.

Edit: per below, I forgot ND. They'd have to win out to take clemsons spot, imo. An 11-1 ND team with no title and recent memory of the match up would put clemson in over them.

 

[uscg1984]

Clemson still has a great shot at making the playoff, but they no longer control their own destiny and they have zero margin of error the rest of the way.

 

[alaskagamecock]

If Georgia runs the table, loses in conference championship, then I could see Bama, Ga, Ohio State and possibly Notre Dame if they run the table. I think their QB is better than Book so they have a chance. Taters can win out in that scenario and still not make it.

 

[Boom4life]

I would say 2 out of the 3 lose, osu, ou, and ND. It’s a good loss if you can call it that, especially if Georgia somehow runs the table. Only one loss team they don’t get in over in my opinion is Georgia and Alabama.

 

[statelinecock]

Good chance. They just don't play anyone with a pulse. They always have that 1 ACC game were it gets dicey every year and unlike other years dont have the luxury off dropping it. Clemson has started a gradual drop-off. Its not showing up in normal games against inferior competition but its has shown up against the last 3 bigtime opponents they've played. They have a super pedestrian oline. The skill players have dropped off bigtime from the 5 year run they had. They're still a heck of a program but I believe they've fallen from that level.

 

[Bud Wiser]

IF they run the table, their only loss would be to a top 5 team, on a neutral field, by one score. What Saturday did to Clemson was leave them with no margin of error. Which is huge. Had they won, Clemson would’ve all but punched their ticket to the playoff in their one game season. Maybe we’ll improve and make life harder for them in the future.

That being said, Clemson is much more likely to slip up again than in years past. If I had to bet one way or the other, I’d say they do lose again. They are still loaded. But there are issues on that offense they have not had to deal with. I think someone will shock them. I really hope it’s us, but not sure we are there yet. If they don’t figure out the offense, that let a lot of teams hang around. They’ll still blow out the majority of their opponents, but teams that have any talent might be able to hang if they aren’t scoring 50 per game. The problem is their defense appears to be really good.

I’d say it’s a 50/50 shot for them to run the table. But at least they are experiencing some adversity. They’ve lost 2 games in a row for the first time in almost a decade.

 

[butchrobbins]

With Clemson's strength of schedule being so poor, and the loss to UGA, what will have to happen for them to make it to the playoffs?
Obviously they can't slip up and lose another.
So will a 2 loss team with a tougher schedule beat a 1 loss/ACC champion Clemson team?

no. the committee has expressed that winning one's conference is a main concern. So to answer your first question, Clemson would need to win out and two other conference champions would have to have 1 loss, but to a much more inferior team than UGA.

 

[Horseshoe 04]

Go FRee Shoes
I can’t see anyone else on their schedule giving them any heartache
Perhaps the Acc title game.

 

[Gamekem]

Clemson will have to win out and win the conference and they have to hope that UGA remains a highly rated team. Otherwise they have to put all their eggs on other teams failures for them to get in.

 

[gamecokpride]

I'll take "Things That No Longer Exist" for a thousand, Alex

 

[GarnetBeamer]

My Clemson friends are keeping an eye on Syracuse and NC State. Should they win out, they expect to lose in similar fashion in the first round.

 

[Horseshoe 04]

Is it too late for expansion?

 

[TAV31]

If UGA loses more than 1 game, it will severely hurt the taters chances also. And that can happen very easily in the SEC. I would say the taters odds are 50/50 at best to make it. It was a great weekend. The last few years have been rough as a fan, but it feels much better after week one now.

 

[Lakecock1]

Frankly, I believe that without a 'signature win' on their resume, they could probably win out (which I doubt they will be able to do) and still NOT make the playoffs. It's going to be extremely difficult for Dabo, the media, or anyone of importance (selection committee) to polish that turd.

 

[uscusc1987]

If Georgia runs the table, loses in conference championship, then I could see Bama, Ga, Ohio State and possibly Notre Dame if they run the table. I think their QB is better than Book so they have a chance. Taters can win out in that scenario and still not make it.

You forgot about Oklahoma

 

[uscusc1987]

Go FRee Shoes
I can’t see anyone else on their schedule giving them any heartache
Perhaps the Acc title game.

They will struggle to win at NC State

 

[uscusc1987]

It always depends on the other spots.

Bama is in, osu has no real competition, so that's two.

You would need two undefeated Champs in ou and a P12 champ to bump clemson. And rarely do so many teams go undefeated. IMHO, Clemson will get in over a one loss champ from the the other 2 conferences because of recent success.

Edit: per below, I forgot ND. They'd have to win out to take clemsons spot, imo. An 11-1 ND team with no title and recent memory of the match up would put clemson in over them.

You also forgot any combo of georgia being 12-0 and Alabama or Texas AM being 12-0 both participants in the SEC championship game get in over Clemson. Especially if georgia is 12-0 and loses to Bama or Texas AM both sec teams get in over clempson.

 

[DeepfriedCock]

It's the reason why they would never leave the ACC.

If they run the rest of their schedule, they will be in.

 

[Lurker123]

You also forgot any combo of georgia being 12-0 and Alabama or Texas AM being 12-0 both participants in the SEC championship game get in over Clemson. Especially if georgia is 12-0 and loses to Bama or Texas AM both sec teams get in over clempson.

That's a "maybe", imho. Uga, at 12-1 with a close loss to Bama would be the best shot of that happening. I believe the timing of the loss would hurt the most in that situation.

But basically I think Bama boat races both of them.

 

[TAV31]

If UGA loses 2-3 games, it'll hurt tateru some as well. That's always a possibility.

 

[Judson1]

If UGA loses 2-3 games, it'll hurt tateru some as well. That's always a possibility.

They will lose before Atlanta. I’ll even bet UAB puts a TD on the board this weekend. Something the taters couldn’t accomplish.

 

[Jaybird1010]

My Clemson friends are keeping an eye on Syracuse and NC State. Should they win out, they expect to lose in similar fashion in the first round.

NC State has a good chance. I think they will beat Miss State easily this weekend.

 

[CockySC01]

It will be cool if Clemson wins every other game they play, except for very last one of the regular season!!!

 

[Legendary Cock]

It will be cool if Clemson wins every other game they play, except for very last one of the regular season!!!

Now that scenario would definitely keep them out of the CFP. Here's hoping it happens. 🤞🤞

 

[mauze1]

With Clemson's strength of schedule being so poor, and the loss to UGA, what will have to happen for them to make it to the playoffs?
Obviously they can't slip up and lose another.
So will a 2 loss team with a tougher schedule beat a 1 loss/ACC champion Clemson team?

What will most likely happen is the teams ranked higher will lose games ( more than one) they had better hope Miami, FSU and UNC recover or their cake walk schedule might backfire on them.

 

[mauze1]

NC State has a good chance. I think they will beat Miss State easily this weekend.

Iwill take some of that bet.

 

[GarnetBeamer]

This is the most vulnerable they have been in a long time, but they will still be favored in all their remaining games. Win out and I guess they will likely nab the 4 spot. They will have essentially the whole season the practice/tweak/refine their offense before the playoffs. It may actually work to their advantage. Instead of opening with a cream puff and then steamrolling through the ACC only to get to the playoffs and discover they have issues on the offense, they found out in Game 1 and can work on it al season.

About the only scenario they don’t make it, assuming they win out, is for the SEC to have 2 undefeated teams in the SECCG.

 

[robertfootball]

Taters are in a mess with their QB and that wasn’t a one game fluke. He locks on to receivers and just stands there, doesn’t try to move around the pocket and he for sure ain’t gonna take off running. How are you going to improve on all that? You can’t. It won’t show up against SC State but it will again down the road. Most plays he had 3-5 seconds to throw, and he’d still get sacked. He’s got a lot of Taj Boyd in him and we all know how he fared against us.

 

[Boom4life]

Taters are in a mess with their QB and that wasn’t a one game fluke. He locks on to receivers and just stands there, doesn’t try to move around the pocket and he for sure ain’t gonna take off running. How are you going to improve on all that? You can’t. It won’t show up against SC State but it will again down the road. Most plays he had 3-5 seconds to throw, and he’d still get sacked. He’s got a lot of Taj Boyd in him and we all know how he fared against us.

I don’t know about all that. One game doesn’t define you. The qb I saw the other night did not look the same as the one I saw in the ND game. Also doesn’t help when your receivers are running the wrong routes.

 

[robertfootball]

I don’t know about all that. One game doesn’t define you. The qb I saw the other night did not look the same as the one I saw in the ND game. Also doesn’t help when your receivers are running the wrong routes.

No it doesn’t but he’s got a few really bad habits he’s going to have to learn to break and fast. He doesn’t have near the weapons around him that he had in the ND game that’s for sure. Their issues will mask themselves for most of the season but a good team will knock them off again. Especially one with an aggressive defense.

 

[Lakecock1]

This is the most vulnerable they have been in a long time, but they will still be favored in all their remaining games. Win out and I guess they will likely nab the 4 spot. They will have essentially the whole season the practice/tweak/refine their offense before the playoffs. It may actually work to their advantage. Instead of opening with a cream puff and then steamrolling through the ACC only to get to the playoffs and discover they have issues on the offense, they found out in Game 1 and can work on it al season.

About the only scenario they don’t make it, assuming they win out, is for the SEC to have 2 undefeated teams in the SECCG.

I expect them to be in the 'discussion', but even if they win out, they will still have to compete for the playoffs vs other 1 loss teams. Provided any of those other 1 loss teams has at least one signature win, that team will keep Clemson out of the playoffs.

 

[Scuba_do]

It's the reason why they would never leave the ACC.

If they run the rest of their schedule, they will be in.

If they run the schedule, and a team above them (not named Alabama or Ohio State) in the pole loses a game, they will be in.

 

[Gradstudent]

If they win out, they are in, no issues, they wont be punished for playing UGA

 

[rogue cock]

It's the reason why they would never leave the ACC.

If they run the rest of their schedule, they will be in.

I disagree. If there are several one loss teams coming out of the SEC, B1G, PAC and Big 12 and Notre Dame, I don't see Clemson having the signature win to get in ahead of them.

 

[Boom4life]

What if that one loss is to an inferior team?

 

[rogue cock]

What if that one loss is to an inferior team?

If directed at my take....It has always appeared that they look more at the type of wins you have than the loss(es). Clemson has made it a couple of times with a "bad" loss but having a signature win or two.