As long as you win your Power Four conference, there will be a spot reserved for you in the College Football Playoff. While Clemson is on the shortlist of contenders to win the ACC this year, the national media tends to believe this will be a fourth-place team in its conference. In CBS Sports' ACC preview, the bulk of their writers had Clemson finishing in either fourth of fifth. They can prove them all wrong.
While Tom Fornelli has been a major critic of Clemson all summer, he did paint himself into a corner when discussing this "powerhouse of the past." "It has lost its place among the elite. None of which is to say the Tigers can't or won't have a strong season (there's plenty of wiggle room in the ACC after Miami), but an 8-4 mark is far more likely than the double-digit win seasons of yore," Fornelli wrote.
It is all about the "wiggle room in the ACC", regardless of how you feel about Miami. To date, Miami has never won the ACC before. Neither have SMU or Louisville. Although the Mustangs and Cardinals are relative newcomers to the league, Miami has been a conference member for over a generation. There is first time for everything, but the Mario Cristobal of it all does pave a pathway for Clemson to exploit.
Clemson can navigate its easy ACC schedule to prove the haters wrong
Yes, the two non-conference games at LSU and home vs. South Carolina could be quite challenging. Clemson can afford to suffer one loss, but not both. In the event the Tigers were to somehow catch Miami napping during their early October home date, that could free things up for them. Essentially, Clemson has to go 7-1in ACC play, and win around nine games to have a shot at making the playoffs.
The good news is outside of the Miami date, Clemson does not face another serious contender to come out of the ACC. It has a hard road date at Cal, but it is a lot of Georgia Tech, North Carolina, and Virginia Tech at home. The Duke game on a Friday night during the penultimate game of the season could be tricky, but there are more wins to be had on Clemson's schedule than you might even realize.
Clemson's two other ACC opponents are a road games at Florida State and Syracuse. Neither were anything close to bowl teams a season ago. The pressure is starting mount for Fran Brown, as it has already boiled over for Mike Norvell. As for the Tigers' two other non-conference games, they will be hosting Georgia Southern and Charleston Southern. Simply put, a 10-2 or 9-3 season is within reach.
The most realistic way Clemson wins the ACC is by going 10-2 overall and 7-1 in ACC play with losses to playoff-caliber teams in LSU and Miami. Clemson will need to put a few pelts on the wall, but going 10-2 (7-1) in the ACC should be good enough to get to Charlotte. Unlike Miami, SMU, or Louisville, Clemson has won the ACC before. You would have to like its chances of putting it all together then.
While an 8-4 or even a 7-5 season is possible, so too is a 10-2 or 9-3 campaign for Clemson this year.
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