Tuesday, the College Football Playoff committee released its final round of rankings before the 12-team field is set this Sunday. And as expected, the Clemson Tigers saw their ranking plummet following Saturday's 17-14 loss to South Carolina.
Checking in at No. 17, the Tigers fell five spots this week. Of course, that was no shock given that the selection committee has not been all that high on Clemson for most of the season.
The good news is that by virtue of playing in the ACC Championship Game against SMU this weekend, there remains a path to the playoff for head coach Dabo Swinney and his team. If the Tigers win, they will be guaranteed a spot in the field however they may not earn a first-round bye if they are the lowest-ranked conference champion.
While there wasn't much intrigue surrounding the Tigers' place in the rankings this week, the same couldn't be said about rival South Carolina. That's because the Gamecocks remained in play for a possible at-large bid.
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However, Tuesday's rankings were not kind to Clemson's in-state rival. South Carolina checks in at No. 14 this week moving up only one spot from last week.
Meanwhile, the other prime contenders for the final at-large bid, Ole Miss, Miami, and Alabama, sit at No. 13, 12, and 11 respectively. That makes it nearly impossible to envision the Gamecocks earning a bid given that they aren't playing another game prior to the field being set for good.
Thus, even though the Gamecocks beat the Tigers head-to-head, it is Clemson who is in the better position of the two teams. That's an ironic twist that few saw coming shortly after the Gamecocks captured the Palmetto Bowl this past weekend.
Clemson now has a second (or even third) chance to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff and that's going to be what every Tiger fan focuses on this week. So even if the committee isn't high on the Tigers, there's still a way for Clemson to play its way into the College Football Playoff.