CFP Committee Holds Lackluster Effort Against Clemson

CLEMSON, S.C. — College Football Playoff Committee Chairman Boo Corrigan said Clemson’s 21-point loss to Notre Dame was the main reason why the Tigers fell from No. 4 to No. 10 in the CFP Top 25 Ranking, which was released Tuesday night.

The Tigers, who are 8-1, fell behind both Alabama, No. 9, and LSU, No. 7, in the ranking, both of which have two losses. Corrigan would not admit that maybe the committee ranked Clemson too high in the ranking a week ago.

He said they valued Clemson’s wins at Wake Forest and at Florida State, plus its victories at home over NC State and Syracuse. NC State is No. 16 in the ranking, while both Wake and Syracuse fell out of the ranking after suffering another loss.

“This was in large part based on the game they played against Notre Dame and how that game went,” Corrigan said. “At the time, (they lost to) an unranked Notre Dame team that is improving and has been improving. In a large case, it was the Notre Dame game itself.”

Clemson will have to have a lot happen in order to get back in the CFP race. As mentioned, both LSU and Alabama are ahead of the Tigers, as are Pac-12 teams Oregon (No. 6) and USC (No. 8), who both have one loss.

The Irish’s win over the Tigers allowed Notre Dame to jump into the rankings for the first time this season at No. 20. Besides a win over No. 10 Clemson, the Irish also has a victory over No. 15 North Carolina.

“The win over Clemson, the win over North Carolina and the win over Syracuse, at the time, winning six out of seven games, played really strongly into that conversation,” Corrigan said.

Florida State, who crushed Miami last weekend, helped Clemson in the ranking. The Seminoles moved into the top 25 at No. 23 this week, giving the Tigers two wins over ranked opponents.

The Tigers won at Florida State back on Oct. 22. Corrigan said FSU’s entire body of work is what got them ranked.

“It was their second game in the win over LSU and the win at Louisville,” he said. “It was a tough stretch for them playing Wake, NC State and Clemson.

“Their defense is giving up less than 20 points a game. A good win over Miami, and as we are looking at this, we are looking at the body of work. We are looking over the ten weeks of the season and making sure we are making the right decisions and that helped Florida State come into the discussion at that point.”

College Football Playoff Ranking

1. Georgia 9-0

2. Ohio State 9-0

3. Michigan 9-0

4. TCU (9-0)

5. Tennessee (8-1)

6. Oregon (8-1)

7. LSU (7-2)

8. USC (8-1)

9. Alabama (7-2)

10. Clemson (8-1)

11. Ole Miss (8-1)

12. UCLA (8-1)

13. Utah (7-2)

14. Penn State (7-2)

15. North Carolina (8-1)

16. NC State (7-2)

17. Tulane (8-1)

18. Texas (6-3)

19. Kansas State (6-3)

20. Notre Dame (6-3)

21. Illinois (7-2)

22. UCF (7-2)

23. Florida State (6-3)

24. Kentucky (6-3)

25. Washington (7-2)

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