Clemson football's hopes of making a run to the College Football Playoff took a huge hit on Saturday night. With a chance to pick up a good win over a solid Louisville team, Dabo Swinney and Clemson were dominated for nearly 60 minutes in a 33-21 blowout loss that was uglier than the final score suggests.
This was an especially stunning result considering that it came in a night game at home in front of a raucous Death Valley crowd where the Tigers usually thrive. Clemson had been cruising through its recent schedule since losing the season opener against Georgia.
After the game, Swinney offered a blunt admission of his team's lackluster play, according to the Associated Press via ESPN.
“We did not play our best game tonight, and we did not deserve to win,” Swinney said after the game. “We looked like a very poorly coached team tonight. That’s on me.”
Clemson was on a collision course with Miami (FL) before Saturday night, as the two were slated to face off in the ACC Championship Game. Now, however, Clemson no longer controls its own destiny in the ACC. If it wants to reach its goals this season, it will need to get some help from a few teams on the outside.
Clemson's playoff path narrows after Louisville loss
Clemson had been written off this season after its underwhelming performance in the season opener, which it lost 34-3 against Georgia. Since then, however, Dabo Swinney and the Tigers have been on fire and were dominating nearly every team in the ACC before running into Louisville.
Louisville had been close to a breakthrough in recent weeks, dropping close games against Notre Dame, SMU and Miami (FL). They found a big win on Saturday in Death Valley, and made Clemson's playoff path extremely murky in the process.
Swinney and company will now need some help around the league if they want to make the ACC Championship Game and earn a chance at getting to the playoff. The first task is winning out, which will be no easy ask. Clemson has challenging road games against Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh in the next two weeks before closing the season against The Citadel and rival South Carolina at home. Winning the next two games and securing a 7-1 record in ACC play will be very difficult.
Now, Clemson will need a loss from either SMU or Miami to earn a tie for second place in the conference, and then it will have to win a tiebreaker that won't include a head-to-head matchup. SMU's schedule down the stretch is pretty soft, with home games against Cal and Boston College and a road trip to Virginia while Miami plays Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Syracuse.
Saturday night's loss also ensures that Clemson won't make the playoff without winning the ACC Championship. Even if they finish 10-2 and don't earn a spot in the conference title game, the Big Ten and SEC will likely take up a large majority of the at-large spots, meaning that Clemson will likely be left out.
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