The Clemson Tigers are the poster boys for 12-team CFP true believers. The faction that advocated for this new format wished for this precise scenario to occur. A school that was largely out of the running but managed to squeeze in at the final minute. When Dabo Swinney’s Tigers walked off the field after losing to South Carolina, the writing was on the wall. Clemson had seemingly blown their opportunity. External assistance from an unlikely source in Syracuse helped them get to Charlotte in the first place. It has to be the intrinsic orange link.
Once they were in the ACC Championship Game, the equation was clear. Win, and you’re in. The design of the victory they chose was not as simple. The fourth quarter
SMU’s comeback proved valiant, as a 56-yard convert for three kept the Tigers from leaving Charlotte with their tails between their legs. Dabo Swinney’s done it again. Clemson is back in the CFP after a brief absence. Due to their arduous journey to the destination, CFB icon and pundit Mark Ingram has a proposition for Swinney.
On The Triple Option podcast with Urban Meyer and Rob Stone, 2009 Heisman winner Ingram recognized Clemson as the worthy winner. Nevertheless, he believes that Clemson’s road to the CFP needs to be recalibrated. “[Clemson] is the top team in the ACC, but they elected to play a difficult out-of-conference schedule. They faced two of the top teams in the CFP rankings. After losing to Georgia in the first week, they suffered another loss to South Carolina. [The program] incurred two defeats due to SEC non-conference scheduling. So if I’m Clemson, I’ll never do that
again,” Ingram stated. Ingram stated that if Dabo Swinney and company had a schedule similar to their ACC counterparts, they would be even better off. “If I don’t have those two non-conference games, I’m probably a top 5 seed right now, and I don’t need all that extra stuff.” He mentioned SMU, and Miami wants to reinforce his point. SMU is in on the strength of their record, despite the fact that they have no meaningful wins on their resume. Miami, too, played a relatively easy schedule and only dropped out of the top 12 when their close, nearly unsustainable wins caught up with them down the stretch. The debate over the strength of the schedule has been heated. As the final pieces dropped, the point became irrelevant. The trio of 9-3 SEC teams with “stronger” routes fell victim to it. They have been left at the door to the proverbial party, while teams such as SMU and Indiana have in. Clemson has also entered, although through a window in the back. If QB1 Cade Klubnik’s reaction is to They’re not especially excited about who they’re up against.
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