Latest College Football Playoff ranking predictions: Why Clemson should take note of Arizona State, Iowa State

Clemson football’s CFP at-large hopes ended with Saturday’s loss to South Carolina, but the Tigers’ CFP hopes were boosted via the berth into the ACC Championship Game.

Clemson faces SMU on Saturday in Charlotte for the automatic berth into the College Football Playoff and a chance for a first-round bye.

Tuesday’s rankings reveal will give insight into whether or not the Tigers will be ahead of the Big 12 champion, either Arizona State or Iowa State.

Here’s how we see the CFP rankings shake out on Tuesday:

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Clemson football CFP rankings projection

Our CFP projection, based off of the previous week’s rankings:

Oregon

Texas

Penn State

Notre Dame

Georgia

Ohio State

Tennessee

SMU

Indiana

Boise State

Alabama

South Carolina

Ole Miss

Miami (FL)

Arizona State

Clemson

Iowa State

BYU

Missouri

UNLV

Syracuse

Illinois

Kansas State

Colorado

Louisville

Some notes:

In this space last week, we offered up the dynamics of a Clemson loss to South Carolina and a Syracuse win meaning an overall improvement to Clemson’s CFP outlook. It’s now reality.

The biggest thing for Clemson fans to pay attention to on Tuesday is the placement of Arizona State and Iowa State in relation to the Tigers. If Clemson is close to the two Big 12 Championship Game participants in Tuesday’s reveal, one could surmise a top-10 win would ensure the Tigers ahead of the Big 12 champion on Sunday. Remember, only the top four conference champions get the bye into the quarterfinals.

If Clemson drops a few spots below the two, the Tigers are likely playing to make the CFP as a 12-seed with a road first-round playoff game at either the Oregon/Penn State loser or Notre Dame.

Don’t forget about the important variable: Clemson needs to beat SMU in Charlotte to make the playoff.

Projected CFP bracket

CFP…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/latest-college-football-playoff-ranking-101450822.html

Author : Greenville News

Publish date : 2024-12-03 10:14:00

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