Greg McElroy believes Clemson is a team that can make a legitimate playoff run this season
Dabo Swinney and the Tigers have a massive Week 4 matchup against Florida State, with a loss here ending any chance Clemson has to make the College Football Playoff this season.
Many might ask: “Is Clemson even in the hunt to begin with?” with the answer being yes. There’s no telling how the rest of the season will play out, and there is definitively still a path for Swinney and the Tigers to make a run.
ESPN analyst Greg McElroy believes so, breaking down the teams that still have a chance to make the CFP this season on his Always College Football show. Putting six groups together, with Clemson landing in group 6. This group consists of one-loss teams that could still make a run.
“Here are four teams right now that I think have one loss that still could make a legitimate run because they have good personnel,” the ESPN analyst said. “They have really good personnel, there’s still quality on these rosters, but they’ve got to figure it out, and they’ve got to tweak some things, and they’ve got to find themselves, and they better find themselves quickly because each of these four teams has some difficult games coming up in the weeks to come.”
Clemson is one of these teams, and it is difficult to argue with his reasoning behind their placement. This team has a ton of talent, but they need to play far better football from here on to have any chance at a run.
It’s a good thing for the Tigers that Week 4 offers an excellent opportunity.
“I know I watched the Duke game,” McElroy said. “Defensive front seven, I think that group’s still really good. Defensive back end, not bad, improving. Cade Klubnik, the last two weeks, improving. Receivers, still not totally sold on what they have from a depth standpoint, but I do think they have some top-line guys, and if they can figure out a way to be a little more consistent pushing the ball down the field, I think they can beat every single team on their schedule. I really believe that. Now, they’re going to have to play a whole heck of a lot better, but it can happen.”
All eyes will be on Clemson and Florida State on Saturday as they kick off an excellent weekend of football. Games like these are the ones Swinney and the Tigers have performed their best. It’s been a while, but Clemson truly feels like the underdog.
