While it is not the College Football Playoff rankings, the latest AP Top 25 poll could give us some insight into what could be coming down the pipeline for the Clemson Tigers. Although 6-3 (4-2) Clemson did not receive a single top-25 vote for the umpteenth week in a row, two of the Tigers three remaining opponents sure did. That would be the South Carolina Gamecocks and Duke Blue Devils.
South Carolina moved up three spots from last week's AP poll to No. 20. The Gamecocks were the No. 21 team in the country in the first College Football Playoff rankings that came out on Tuesday night. Since they were able to surive a close one with the Texas A&M Aggies, that might be enough to have them cracking the top 20 this week at 6-3. With Arkansas up next, they might only be climbing higher.
As for Duke, the Blue Devils are a win better on the season than Clemson and South Carolina at 7-2. While their two losses to Georgia Tech and Duke are not great, Manny Diaz's team is playing with so much confidence right now. They were the second team receiving votes this week. As the defending ACC champions, the chances of Duke cracking the top 25 ahead of the Miami game feel promising.
Clemson has to treat the Georgia Tech game as a warmup for Duke now
While it is essentially a guarantee that South Carolina will be ranked at the time of Clemson's meeting with them at regular-season's end, Duke will undoubtedly be ranked if the Blue Devils hand the Canes back-to-back losses in ACC play. Duke's final three games are absolutely brutal: at Miami, home for Clemson, and at Wake Forest. If the Blue Devils can somehow hold their own, they might win the ACC.
Although Duke being ranked heading into the penultimate week of the regular season is slim at best, Miami still has not had a true letdown game yet. The Notre Dame defeat was not that. With the Blue Devils hoping to enact revenge on Miami transfer Darian Mensah, the Hurricanes could be more up against it than you might think, even if next week's game is in Coral Gables. It is something to monitor.
Right now, Clemson has to take advantage of the layup at hand next week when the Tigers host the struggling 2-7 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. This has not been a banner year for the ACC, and that is the worst team in the conference by a considerable margin. Outside of only Miami, Duke may be the second hardest team Clemson plays in the ACC this year. South Carolina might be better than LSU.
What this all means is Clemson has to play a complete game of utter domination in all three phases at home against Georgia Tech next Saturday afternoon. Dabo Swinney's team needs to use this as a bit of a tune-up for the Friday night kick at Duke and the home date with South Carolina in Palmetto. Even though Clemson has a shot at finishing the season at 9-3 (6-2), more losses could be coming later on.
The only way that Clemson can get to Charlotte is by beating Georgia Tech and Duke in succession.
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