Clemson Football: Scenarios for Tigers to win out and still miss CFB Playoff

Everything is still on the table for Clemson football as we head down the stretch

Everything is still on the table for Clemson football following a disappointing loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish this past weekend in South Bend.

The Tigers came up short in a double-overtime game against Notre Dame, falling 47-40, without their star quarterback Trevor Lawrence and a plethora of defensive starters.

The latest AP Poll has the Tigers now ranked No. 4 in the nation with Alabama moving to No. 1, Notre Dame jumping up to No. 2 and Ohio State remaining at No. 3. Behind Clemson football is Texas A&M (5), Florida (6), Cincinnati (7), BYU (8), Miami (9) and Indiana (10).

When you look at the poll and basic logic, most would say there’s no way that Clemson doesn’t control its own destiny. The Tigers will get another shot at Notre Dame in the ACC Championship and, if they win out, they’ll be a one-loss conference champion with likely the best loss of any conference champion, and that loss would have an asterisk by it with all the injuries, as well.

That being said, is there a scenario where Clemson football wins out and still gets left out? There are still some things that Tiger fans should want to fall into place

The most likely outcome of this season is that if Clemson wins out, the Tigers are in and they’re likely in by a long shot.

That being said, it’d be much more comfortable for Tiger fans if a few things happened to make things a bit more cut-and-dry rather than muddy waters later on in the season.

Think about this scenario, though…

• Clemson goes undefeated, finishes as one-loss conference champion. Notre Dame also has one loss, to Clemson in the ACC Championship.
• Alabama loses to one-loss Florida in the SEC Championship. Crimson Tide are now a one-loss team.
• Texas A&M finishes the year with one loss.
• Cincinnati and BYU remain undefeated on the year.
• Ohio State wins the Big Ten with an undefeated record, Oregon wins the Pac-12 with an undefeated record, albeit with several less games.
• Oklahoma State wins the Big 12 with just one loss.

In that scenario, you would Ohio State in the playoff with no doubt. Florida- who only has one loss and is SEC Champion- would be in the playoff, as well.

Now what do you do with this long list of teams that includes two undefeated non-Power 5 teams (Cincinnati and BYU) as well a bunch of one-loss teams including Clemson (ACC Champion), Oklahoma State (Big 12 champion), Alabama, Notre Dame and Texas A&M.

You’ve only got two spots, who are they going to? Texas A&M’s only loss was to Alabama early in the season and the Aggies beat Florida- the SEC Champion. Alabama and Notre Dame finished their regular season undefeated and just lost in their conference title games.

Clemson lost in the regular season, but won the ACC Championship. What about Cincinnati and BYU, do they deserve a chance?

You see, even in this scenario, I think Clemson football gets in. But my point is this: You don’t want the waters muddied. You don’t want a whole bunch of rhetoric about why this team is better than that team with this long list of potential contenders. You don’t want chaos down the stretch because you’re then turning over your CFB Playoff fate to the committee and hoping they make the right choice.

Clemson likely does control its own destiny, but believe me: Tiger fans need to pull for things to become a little clearer down the stretch so that we’re not relying on the committee’s ‘eye test’ to determine things when selection Sunday comes around.