Clemson got its first chance to see what a win could do to its College Football Playoff committee standings, and the Tigers advanced.

After a 24-14 victory at Virginia Tech, Clemson ranked 20th, moving up three spots.

Excluding Saturday’s result, The Athletic model Clemson had as much as a 38% CFP chance and an equal chance with Miami (36%) to win the ACC, ahead of SMU (26%). ESPN Playoff Predictor brought the Tigers back to double-digit CFP chances at 17%, which increase to 46% when winning even without an appearance in the ACC title game. Another ESPN analysis tool gives Clemson a 19% chance to play in the ACC championship game.

This new 12-team edition of the College Football Playoffs will be settled with the final rankings of the CFP committee on December 8. The four highest-ranked conference champions will occupy the top four seeds for a first-round bye. The remaining spots will be filled by up to seven at-large teams, with another top-ranked conference champion guaranteed a spot also based on their ranking.

Outside of some chaos and an unbeaten streak to an at-large berth, Clemson’s easiest CFP path is Miami (5-1 ACC) and/or SMU (5-0 ACC) in falling on them and on the Tigers (6-1 ACC). ) gain entry to the ACC Championship with a Top 2 seed and win. With dates hosting Wake Forest (Nov. 23; T-12 ACC) and traveling to Syracuse (Nov. 30; T-7 ACC), another loss at Miami is currently the ticket if the Tigers can take care of the business at Pitt on Saturday. (noon/ESPN). SMU hosts Boston College (Nov. 16; T-11 ACC), travels to Virginia (Nov. 23; T-7) and hosts Cal (Nov. 30; 15).

Among the remaining tiebreakers, Clemson still has a chance to edge SMU if the Mustangs fall to just 7-1 with a loss to Virginia, but the Cavaliers, currently 3-3 in ACC play, would likely have to finish a game. ahead of Louisville (4-2 ACC) in the ACC standings to give Clemson the edge on best common opponent win (place in ACC standings) against SMU (Louisville beat Virginia head to head).

Any three-team tiebreaker with Miami and SMU advances those two since the common opponents are Florida State and Louisville (SMU and Miami went 2-0; Clemson went 1-1).

In traditional polls, Clemson was ranked No. 16 in the Coaches Poll and No. 17 in the AP Top 25.

The CFP will play the first round at campus sites, with seeds 5 through 8 hosting seeds 9 through 12. The quarterfinals will be played at bowl sites, with the Rose, Peach, Sugar and Fiesta bowls , then the semi-finals will take place on the Cotton and Orange bowls. The national championship will take place on January 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

CFP 2024 Committee: Chris Ault (former head coach and athletic director, University of Nevada), Chet Gladchuk (athletic director, US Naval Academy), Jim Grobe (former head coach, Ohio University, Wake Forest and Baylor), Warde Manuel (president) (athletic director, University of Michigan), Randall McDaniel (College and Pro Football Hall of Famer and former All-American offensive lineman, Arizona State University); Gary Pinkel (former head coach, University of Toledo and University of Missouri); Mack Rhoades (athletic director, Baylor University); Mike Riley (former college head coach at Oregon State and Nebraska, as well as head coach in the NFL, CFL, WLAF, AAF and USFL), David Sayler (director of sports, Miami University, OH), Will Shields (college and professional football Hall of Famer and former All-American offensive lineman, University of Nebraska), Kelly Whiteside (professor of sports media and journalism, Montclair State University ; longtime sports writer, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and Newsday), Carla Williams (athletic director, University of Virginia), and Hunter Yurachek (athletic director, University of Arkansas).

ACC Tiebreaker

Top 25 playoffs

1. Oregon (automatic bid #1 for projected CFP conference champion)

2. Ohio State (Overall Projected CFP)

3. Texas (projected automatic bid #2 for CFP conference champion)

4. Penn State (overall projected CFP)

5. Indiana (projected CFP as a whole)

6. BYU (automatic bid #3 for projected CFP conference champion)

7. Tennessee (Projected CFP as a whole)

8. Notre Dame (projected CFP as a whole)

9. Miami (projected automatic bid #4 for CFP conference champion)

10. Alabama (projected CFP as a whole)

11. Ole Miss (projected CFP overall)

12. Georgia

13. Boise State (CFP projected as final automatic conference champion bid)

14. SMU

15. Texas A&M

16. Kansas State

17. Colorado

18. Washington State

19. Louisville

20. Clemson

21. South Carolina

22. LSU

23.Missouri

24. Army

25. Tulane

The College Football Playoff if it happened today (November 12) pic.twitter.com/VHPysdRvMe

– Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) November 13, 2024