Mark Ingram denies Clemson as a College Football Playoff bid stealer

The Clemson Tigers had to win their conference to get into the College Football Playoff, but the college football world as a whole isn’t necessarily convinced Dabo Swinney’s team is worthy.

After capturing victory in the ACC Championship Game, Clemson was named the twelfth and final seed in the CFP. That’s led some to label them as a bid stealer from teams like Alabama, but former Crimson Tide running back Mark Ingram won’t go that far. He’s giving the Tigers their flowers.

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“A bid stealer, but I would beg to differ,” Ingram pushed back, regarding Clemson’s potential, via The Triple Option. “They are the best team in the ACC, but they chose to schedule a tough out of conference schedule. They played two of the best teams in the CFP rankings. They played Georgia in Week 1, which everyone thought Clemson was out of it. Like they were just canceling them off, ‘Dabo doesn’t hit the portal,’ this, that. Just writing Clemson off. They continue to win their games. Then, they play South Carolina and get a second loss. I forget who [else they loss to], but they got two of their losses from SEC non-conference scheduling. So if I’m Clemson, I never do that again, because if I don’t have those two non-conference games, I’m probably a top-five seed right now. And I don’t need all that extra stuff.

“So then you have teams like Miami and SMU who didn’t play nobody, you know, they get in. But Clemson is — [they ] showed why they are the best team in ACC. They pretty much dominated that game throughout the entirety of the game. SMU had a big fourth quarter. But Dabo and Clemson, big kudos to them. They needed some help, but they did what they had to do to be able to get to the College Football Playoff. So, they’re in.”

There’s something to be said for taking care of business, and that’s exactly what Swinney and company did. While some won’t change their minds regarding whether Clemson is worthy, it doesn’t matter — they’re in, and they’re fighting for a national title in 2024.

The Tigers are slated to face the SEC runner-up in the Texas Longhorns in the first round. That game will take place on Dec. 21 at 4:00 p.m. ET, so we’ll see if Clemson can shock the world and prove Mark Ingram right in the process.