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Here comes little ol’ Clemson.
Two weeks ago, when a reporter asked Dabo Swinney to offer a pitch for his Tigers to make the College Football Playoff, the Clemson coach obliged, but his heart didn’t really seem in it.
Swinney offered some meandering rhetoric that amounted to: Why not Clemson?
The answer, at that time, was that Clemson’s résumé didn’t stack up with a number of at-large contenders ahead of it.
Since then, the SEC cannibalized itself.
Now that the College Football Playoff committee values Clemson ahead of three-loss SEC teams like Alabama and Mississippi, we must ask with a straight face: Why not Clemson?
If Clemson beats No. 15 South Carolina on Saturday, then the committee will be forced to strongly consider the Tigers’ credentials.
Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik (2) runs for a touchdown against North Carolina State during the first quarter at Memorial Stadium.
Clemson ranked No. 12 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, released Tuesday. More important than the ranking, though, is the reality that Clemson (9-2) sits as the first team out of the playoff field.
That’s not a doomsday placement. Last week, Tennessee ranked as the first team out of the field. By Tuesday, the Vols had moved onto the No. 9 seed line.
A lot can happen in a Saturday, and Clemson wouldn’t need much help to get into the field.
But, should Clemson need any help at all to enter the field?
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Consider the case between No. 10 Indiana, at 10-1, compared to Clemson.
If the Hoosiers beat 1-10 Purdue in their finale and Clemson beats South Carolina, would that be enough to elevate the Tigers into the field, at Indiana’s expense?
CFP committee chairman Warde Manuel can’t…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/clemson-storms-college-football-playoff-101410688.html
Author : USA TODAY Sports
Publish date : 2024-11-27 10:14:00
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