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Ranking every Clemson College Football Playoff Game of the four-team era

By John Chancey

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney gets doused with sports drink in the closing second against North Carolina during the fourth quarter of the ACC Championship football game at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina Saturday, Dec 3, 2022.Clemson Tigers Football Vs North Carolina Tar Heels Acc Championship Charlotte Nc
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney gets doused with sports drink in the closing second against North Carolina during the fourth quarter of the ACC Championship football game at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina Saturday, Dec 3, 2022.Clemson Tigers Football Vs North Carolina Tar Heels Acc Championship Charlotte Nc /
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Clemson Football qualified for six straight College Football Playoff berths from 2015-2020, and Tiger Nation was blessed to witness it.

The overall experience was wonderful and Clemson’s are fans hungry for more. Some games were more enjoyable than others, however.

Here are Clemson’s ten CFP appearances ranked from worst to best.

10th: 2020 Sugar Bowl: Ohio State 49, Clemson 28

Unfortunately, Clemson’s worst playoff performance was their last one. Ohio State had played a very truncated schedule during the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They were undefeated but struggled at times. Overall, they didn’t look like the team that Clemson had played the previous season in the Fiesta Bowl.

The Tigers, on the other hand, had a lot of momentum. Following their lone loss of the season at South Bend, Trevor Lawrence returned from COVID and helped the Tigers run the table for the rest of the season. They avenged that loss to Notre Dame in the ACC Championship.

It turned out Ohio State was coasting through their regular season because the only opponent they had their eyes on was Clemson, and they thoroughly defeated the Tigers that night. The 21-point loss was Clemson’s worst in the playoffs.

Justin Fields threw six touchdowns. Trey Sermon ran for 193 yards and one touchdown.

Trevor Lawrence had one of his largest passing nights with 400 yards. Cornell Powell had eight receptions for 139 yards and two touchdowns, but the Tigers couldn’t get anything going on the ground.

Ohio State went on to lose to Alabama 52-24. It literally felt like their only real purpose to play in the 2020 season was to get revenge for Clemson ending their 2019 season.

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