Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers are one of the most intensely discussed teams in college football right now as their path to the College Football Playoff is clear, and possibly controversial.
Clemson jumped from No. 23 in the first edition of the CFP rankings all the way up to No. 12 in the latest. At this point, a loss to South Carolina is a certain end to any hopes the Tigers have of making the playoff, but a win might make them undeniable as they jump up to the top twelve.
USA TODAY Sports analyst Blake Toppmeyer believes Clemson is a team to watch closely down the stretch.
Here comes little ol’ Clemson.
Two weeks ago, when a reporter asked Dabo Swinney to offer a pitch for his Tigers to make the College Football Playoff, the Clemson coach obliged, but his heart didn’t really seem in it.
Swinney offered some meandering rhetoric that amounted to: Why not Clemson?
The answer, at that time, was that Clemson’s résumé didn’t stack up with a number of at-large contenders ahead of it.
Since then, the SEC cannibalized itself.
Now that the College Football Playoff committee values Clemson ahead of three-loss SEC teams like Alabama and Mississippi, we must ask with a straight face: Why not Clemson?
If Clemson beats No. 15 South Carolina on Saturday, then the committee will be forced to strongly consider the Tigers’ credentials.
The SEC has made this thing absolutely wild. There’s no denying, there is SEC bias and how that will effect Clemson could be very interesting. If Clemson takes down South Carolina, the committee has a huge decision to make.
Will they want to add a three loss SEC team? Honestly, they probably do… but is Clemson undeniable if they take down South Carolina, especially if they do it emphatically? I don’t see how they wouldn’t be.
If Clemson handles business against the Gamecocks on Saturday, be prepared for some anarchy.
This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Clemson could crash the party, storming up the College Football Playoff rankings
