Kirk Herbstreit, Greg McElroy assess Clemson's College Football Playoff chances following no. 9 ranking

The second reveal of the College Football Playoff standings are in. As expected, after their loss to Notre Dame on Saturday, Clemson has been knocked out of the top four. The Tigers entered this week at No.10 after their worst loss to an unranked team in over a decade. And although Clemson experienced a six-spot fall, the Tigers are still in play when it comes to making the final four for the College Football Playoff at the end of the season, according to Kirk Herbstreit.

“They’re hanging on when it comes to the playoff,” said Herbstreit. “I’m just intrigued to see how they handle a loss like that; still trying to figure out the quarterback position. If I’m Dabo Sweeney, I’m not watching these rankings; I’m not worried about the rankings. I just want to get back to playing football up to their own standards. But I’m anxious to see how Clemson responds after that. That’s a humiliating loss for Dabo Sweeney.

Former Alabama quarterback turned ESPN analysts Greg McElroy also shared his thoughts on Clemson’s chances to make it back into the top four. As McElroy sees it, the odds are not in the Tigers’ favor considering the teams ranked ahead of them.

“I just wonder if there’s enough meat on the bone on Clemson’s remaining schedule to get back into the mix,” asked McElroy. “Because even in a loss, with Michigan to Ohio State, Michigan likely would still be ahead of Clemson. Where does LSU fall in the mix; where does Alabama fall in the mix? There’s still so many teams that we’ve yet to rank that even if they were to lose, they’d still probably still be in front of the Tigers, knowing the strength of schedule remains in other places. So the ACC, right now, this is a reflection on just the quality at the top. It’s a little bit more bunched up than we’re accustomed to.”

Oddly enough, the other Tigers squad claiming to play in ‘Death Valley’ is ranked ahead of Clemson at No.7, even though they have two losses on the season. One of them is to a Florida State team that Clemson defeated earlier in the season. It is just the second reveal of the season, and it appears as if the committee has already made a few questionable decisions. But if the Clemson Tigers win out and capture the ACC crown and are overlooked for a one-loss Michigan absent of the Big Ten title, expect for a decision like that not to sit well with not just Clemson fans but fans of ACC football.