On Tuesday night, the latest College Football Playoff rankings were revealed and it was bad news for one conference.
After debuting at No. 4 in the 2022 playoff rankings, Clemson suffered its first loss of the season. A blowout loss to Notre Dame saw the Tigers tumble to No. 10 in this week’s rankings.
ESPN thinks that, accompanied by losses for Syracuse and Wake Forest, make the ACC the conference in the “worst shape.”
From ESPN:
Clemson’s loss at Notre Dame was devastating, as the Tigers sank to No. 10, but that wasn’t the only casualty. Clemson was banking on wins against Syracuse and Wake Forest to impress the committee — and it was enough last week — but both of those teams dropped out of the Top 25 on Tuesday after they suffered their third losses.
Clemson’s best win is now against No. 16 NC State. Even at No. 10, there are enough other contenders ahead of them — and even behind them in the Pac-12 — that have more opportunities to leap the Tigers. With the win, though, Notre Dame was ranked at No. 20 this week, which is a boost for Ohio State’s résumé, and could also help USC down the stretch.
It’s difficult to see an ACC team making the College Football Playoff right now unless there’s some chaos.
A one-loss Clemson team could conceivably do it, but the Tigers would need some help.