Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers are among the hottest teams in college football right now, coming off a solid 49 to 14 win over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
Clemson has been on a roll since its brutal week one loss to Georgia, turning things around in a way that many thought might not be possible. The Tigers’ offensive turnaround has been a sight to watch and has fans excited for what could be another run to the college football playoffs.
In ESPN’s latest college football playoff projections ($$$), Clemson landed as the number eight seed.
Since the season-opening loss to Georgia, Clemson has reeled off five straight wins and scored at least 40 points in four of them. The Tigers also added back-to-back road wins to their résumé. Still, none of those wins have been against ranked opponents and none of them have a winning record. That’s something that will hold them back in the committee meeting room, especially when most, if not all, contenders ranked above them have played a tougher schedule and/or are undefeated. The committee would also still honor Georgia’s season-opening win against the Tigers, and Clemson probably would be behind Bama because the Tide was able to beat Georgia and Clemson did not.
Right now, I see three teams ahead of the Tigers that I consider Clemson to be better than. To be honest, Clemson’s Week 1 loss has felt more like the offensive coordinator being afraid to take the training wheels off and let starting quarterback Cade Klubnik cook.
Well, Klubnik and the offense are cooking now.