No. 4 Clemson trying to stay on playoff track
No. 4 Clemson has secured another spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game. Now, the Tigers are looking to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive.
That starts Saturday against Citadel, an FCS opponent that has lost 15 straight to Clemson dating back to 1931. After that is the annual state tussle with resurgent rival South Carolina, and the Gamecocks are eager to make amends for last year’s humbling 56-7 rout.
“People talk about wanting an expanded playoff,” Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott said.
“We’re in the playoffs.
We lose, we’re out.”
It’s a fine line the Tigers (9-1, No. 2 CFP) have walked successfully the past two seasons. They had clinched the ACC Atlantic Division after nine games in 2015, then
finished 3-0 down the stretch before heading to the ACC title game.
Last season, Clemson needed to win its final ACC game at Wake Forest in week 11 to wrap up another trip to the championship game and followed that up with its rivalry beat down.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said the Tigers’ upcoming matchup with the Coastal Division winner, No. 2 Miami, will be an exciting, challenging contest on Dec. 2. But “both of us have business to take care of before that time comes,” he said.
Scott said Clemson doesn’t plan to let up against The Citadel, which was Southern Conference champion and reached the NCAA playoffs in FCS (former Division I-AA) the past two seasons.
But the Bulldogs (5-5) have fallen from contention and play their season finale at Death Valley.