CFP rankings projections for Clemson football: What it means

On By Littum

Clemson football’s CFP hopes ended with Saturday’s loss to South Carolina, but the Tigers’ CFP hopes were boosted by a berth in the ACC Championship Game.

Clemson faces SMU on Saturday in Charlotte for the automatic berth to the College Football Playoff and a chance for a first-round bye.

Tuesday’s rankings reveal will provide insight into whether the Tigers will be ahead of the Big 12 champion, either Arizona State or Iowa State.

Here’s how we see the CFP rankings shake out on Tuesday:

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Our CFP projection, based on the previous week’s rankings:

  1. Oregon
  2. Texas
  3. Penn State
  4. Notre Dame
  5. Georgia
  6. Ohio State
  7. Tennessee
  8. SMU
  9. Indiana
  10. Boise State
  11. Alabama
  12. South Carolina
  13. Miss Ole
  14. Miami (FL)
  15. Arizona State
  16. Clemson
  17. Iowa State
  18. BYU
  19. Missouri
  20. UNLV
  21. Syracuse
  22. Illinois
  23. Kansas State
  24. Colorado
  25. Louisville

Some notes:

  • In this space last week, we offered the dynamics of a Clemson loss to South Carolina and a Syracuse win signifying an overall improvement to Clemson’s CFP prospects. It is now reality.
  • The biggest thing for Clemson fans to pay attention to on Tuesday is the ranking of Arizona State and Iowa State relative to the Tigers. If Clemson is close to the two Big 12 Championship Game participants in Tuesday’s reveal, one would assume a top-10 win would put the Tigers ahead of the Big 12 champion on Sunday. Remember, only the top four conference champions get a bye to the quarterfinals.
  • If Clemson falls a few spots below those two, the Tigers will likely play to make the CFP as a 12-seed with a first-round road playoff at either the Oregon/Penn State loser or Notre Dame.
  • Don’t forget the important variable: Clemson must beat SMU in Charlotte to make the playoffs.

CFP engineered seeds

  • no. 1 seed Oregon (Big Ten champion)
  • no. 2 seed Texas (SEC champion)
  • No. 3 seed SMU (ACC champion)
  • no. 4 seed Boise State (Mountain West champion)
  • no. 5 seed Penn State
  • no. 6 seed Notre Dame
  • no. 7 seed Georgia
  • No. 8 seed Ohio State
  • no. 9 seed Tennessee
  • no. 10 seed Indiana
  • no. 11 seed Alabama
  • no. 12 seed Arizona State (fifth-ranked conference champion)

First team away: South Carolina, Ole Miss, Miami (FL)

Projections in the first round of the common fisheries policy

  • no. 12 Arizona State at No. 5 Penn State
  • No. 11 Alabama at No. 6 Notre Dame
  • No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Georgia
  • No. 9 Tennessee at Ohio State no. 8

CFP quarterfinal projections

  • 1 Oregon vs. Tennessee/Ohio State
  • No. 2 Texas vs. Indiana/Georgia
  • No. 3 Miami (Fla.) vs. Alabama/Notre Dame
  • No. 4 Boise State vs. Penn State/Arizona State

The next batch of CFP rankings will be revealed on December 3rd, with the final rankings coming out on Sunday, December 8th.

CFP rankings reveal

  • Nov 5
  • 12 Nov
  • 19 Nov
  • Nov 26
  • Dec. 3
  • December 8

Tuesday’s CFP rankings are set for 7 p.m. ET.

  • Time: Approx. 7:00 PM ET Tuesday, December 3rd
  • TV channel: ESPN
  • Live stream: FUBO (free trial)ESPN app

The latest reveal of the College Football Playoff rankings takes place Tuesday, Dec. 3 on ESPN, with Rece Davis leading the coverage. Streaming options for the game include FUBOwhich offers a free trial to new subscribers.

This is the first year of the 12-team format for the CFP, with four first-round and four quarterfinal games added to the CFP slate. The top four ranked conference champions will earn a top-four seed, and the fifth ranked conference champion will also be locked into the field.

The four top-ranked conference champions get a first-round bye, while the No. 5-8 will host first round games in December. The seeds will be posted via their final CFP rankings when they are revealed on December 8th.

One tip: It’s possible, if not likely, that the top four seeds won’t look like the same order as the final CFP rankings. For example, if Penn State is ranked No. 3 in the final rankings but not winning the Big Ten, it cannot be seeded higher than fifth.

The top four seeds do not necessarily have to consist of the “Power 4” conference champions if another conference team is ranked ahead. In theory, the Big 12 champion can miss out entirely if it is ranked outside the top 12 and is behind five other conference champions.

The formal parenthesis will look like this:

CFP First Round

December 20 or 21

  • no. 9 seeds at no. 8 seed, Time TBD
  • no. 12 seeds at no. 5 seed, Time TBD
  • no. 10 seeds at no. 7 seed, Time TBD
  • no. 11 seeds at no. 6 seed, Time TBD

CFP Quarterfinals

31 December or 1 January 2025

  • no. 1 seed (highest ranked conference champion) vs. no. 8/No. 9 winners, site and time TBD
  • No. 4 seed (fourth highest ranked conference champion) vs. no. 5/no. 12 winners, Site and time TBD
  • no. 2 seed (second highest ranked conference champion) vs. no. 7/No. 10 winners, site and time TBD
  • no. 3 seed (third highest ranked conference champion) vs. no. 6/No. 11 winners, site and time TBD

CFP Semifinals

9 or 10 January 2025

  • no. 1 seed-8/9 winner vs. no. 4 seed-5/12 winner, Site and time TBD
  • no. 2 seed-7/10 win vs. no. 3 seed-6/11 winner, Site and time TBD

CFP National Championship

20 January 2025

  • Winner of semi-final no. 1 vs. winner of semi-final no. 2 in Atlanta

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