Will Clemson’s strength of schedule effect its CFP hopes?

Where would the Clemson Tigers surface if they played in the Big Ten or the SEC? 

It’s a theoretical concern that might be talkedabout over a five-course meal and still not have a conclusive conclusion.  

Most would concur that Clemson is a great college football group. But are the Tigers deserving of a area in the College Football Playoff? According to Joel Klatt, we won’t understand upuntil they’re in it. And right now it looks like they will be, as it’s difficult to discover a prospective loss on what is a fairly easy staying schedule.

“There is no other group in the nation with an simpler course to the playoff than Clemson, and it’s been that method for some time,” Klatt stated on his podcast, “The Joel Klatt Show.” “This is a extremely weak one-team conference.”

The Tigers have a bye this week priorto takingatrip to South Bend to take on Notre Dame on Nov. 5. They close out their season with 3 successive house videogames versus Louisville (Nov. 12), Miami (Nov. 19) and No. 25 South Carolina (Nov. 26). 

Unless something extreme takes location over the next month, Clemson will go through its whole regular-season schedule without playing a group ranked greater than NC State was (No. 10) when they fulfilled on Oct. 1. The Wolfpack are now No. 24.

Clemson is presently ranked No. 5 in the AP survey and No. 6 in Klatt’s most current set of rankings.

Outside the Tigers and Wolfpack, there are just 2 ACC groups in the AP Top 25: No. 10 Wake Forest and No. 16 Syracuse. For context, there are a integrated 11 ranked groups from the SEC and Big Ten, and 7 of them appear in the leading15 In reality, Clemson is the just team not in the SEC or Big Ten ranked amongst the leading 6.

“It makes me desire we had growth early duetothefactthat there is no part of me that believes that Clemson might surface any greater than 3rd in the SEC East or the Big Ten East,” Klatt stated.

Klatt’s point can be backed up by merely looking at the numbers.

Of the 8 groups Clemson has played up to this point, just 2 of them (Syracuse and NC State) rank in the leading 40 in points enabled per videogame. There are likewise just 2 groups on Clemson’s schedule that rank in the leading 40 in points per videogame (Syracuse and Wake Forest). 

In contrast, the SEC has 6 groups ranked inside the leading 30 in scoring defense, and 5 inside the leading 30 in scoring offense. The Big Ten’s defensive numbers are even morepowerful, with more than half of the conference ranked inside the leading 40 in scoring defense, and 4 groups in the leading 40 in scoring offense. 

“There’s no method in the world they would win the Big Ten or the SEC, however yet, they’re going to the playoffs,” Klatt stated. “So now, we’re battling for 3 areas.” 

The veryfirst set of College Football Playoff rankings are set to be launched on Nov. 1. It will be fascinating to see where the Tigers land assoonas the committee releases those rankings, as not just does Clemson have a fairly easy schedule, it likewise has concerns surrounding secret positions, consistingof quarterback.

This past weekend, the Tigers turned to backup QB Cade Klubnik to rally them to a 27-21 win over Syracuse after starter DJ Uiagalelei dedicated 3 turnovers by the midway point of the 3rd quarter.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has because stated that Uiagalelei will be this group’s QB going forward, however when talking about “passing the eye test,” the Tigers definitely did not appearance like one of the 4 finest groups in the country.

“Do we actually believe they are all that great?” Klatt questioned. “I have no concept, and the bad part about that is we won’t figure that out upuntil they possibly play a playoff videogame.”