How Clemson Can Still Make the College Football Playoff

It’s no secret that the Clemson Tigers have failed to live up to their expectations as they enter Week Four of the season.

Sitting at 1-2 after its first three games of 2025, with losses to LSU and Georgia Tech, Clemson finds itself in a tough situation. And for a team that held high College Football Playoff aspirations heading into the season, and potentially even eyeing a national championship run, the current circumstances are certainly not what fans had hoped.

According to ESPN’s College Football Power Index analytics, the Tigers hold just a 4.4% chance to make the playoff. Another source, PlayoffStatus.com, indicates that Clemson has a 5% chance of clinching if it loses one more game and a 60% chance if it wins out.

Additionally, the Tigers’ odds to make the CFP are set at +590, according to FanDuel.

Thus, although it’s only mid-September, Dabo Swinney and company have little to no room for error as they head into the remainder of the season. There’s still a path for Clemson to sneak its way into the playoff, but after the past few lackluster showings, it may feel like an enormous mountain to climb.

That path is simple: the Tigers must win the ACC.

And in order to do that, they have to win out. No. 4 Miami and No. 7 Florida State appear to be tough competitors for the conference title and seem to be the two frontrunners as of now. No. 18 Georgia Tech also may be a heavily underrated squad that could fight to make some noise down the stretch.

Clemson faces a relatively manageable schedule in the coming weeks, although nothing is guaranteed considering the poor performances in its first three outings. The Tigers play Syracuse at home this Saturday before a two-game road stint at North Carolina and Boston College, then they host SMU and Duke.

After its matchup with the Blue Devils, Clemson takes on Florida State in Death Valley in what will most likely be a must-win game for the Tigers. They cannot afford to lose another one, but especially not to a team currently above them in the standings. There’s no telling what the ACC will look like in Week 11, but the matchup between the Tigers and the Seminoles could potentially determine a spot in the conference title game. After all, Clemson only boasts one ACC loss, and Florida State faces Miami before heading to Death Valley, meaning it could possibly serve as a tiebreaker.

Overall, to put it simply, the Tigers need to fix things quickly, as they cannot afford to drop another one.

Not to mention, Clemson also travels to Louisville and South Carolina in two of the final three weeks of the regular season. The Cardinals defeated Clemson last season, and although the Gamecocks most recently got stomped by Vanderbilt at home, those two matchups will not be easy by any means.

A three-loss team has an extremely unrealistic chance to earn a spot in the 12-team playoff, which makes every game just that more crucial.