Three reasons Clemson doesn't make the college football playoffs

Red zone struggles

There's nothing more frustrating during a football game than marching down the field and not scoring. Last season, Clemson was one of the worst in the country. It finished No. 127 in the FBS, scoring on only 71.15 percent of its red zone visits. The year before, the Tigers scored 92.98 percent of the time. To make matters worse, Clemson was No. 17 in red zone opportunities per game with 4.3. No one did less in the red zone with more opportunities than Clemson.

Offensive coordinator Garrett Riley had trouble adjusting to his move to Clemson, and his play calling in the red zone was the biggest struggle. However, it can't all be blamed on Riley. Execution from the players fell short just as much.

Returning seven starters should help a little bit, but again, the youth on this team could pose a problem. Mental errors happen more often with young players. And without reliable receivers (yet), Clemson will have to lean on its rushing attack, which makes them predictable.