Paul Finebaum names the school that is causing College Football Playoff chaos

It’s almost time for the initial College Football Playoff rankings, and the picture is still coming into focus after Week 8. SEC Network host Paul Finebaum thinks one school is causing chaos as the season goes on — and it resides in the ACC.

Finebaum said Clemson is making things interesting right now. The Tigers are No. 5 in the latest AP Top 25, just behind Michigan. But the Wolverines still have a game against No. 2 Ohio State on their schedule, meaning Clemson could be in position to move up after that pivotal game.

Considering the nature of the Tigers’ wins — including last week’s come-from-behind victory over Syracuse — Finebaum said Clemson is one bad break away from being out of the picture.

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“The school that’s screwing it up for everybody right now is Clemson,” Finebaum said on ESPN’s “Keyshawn, J-Will and Max” this week. “They have had three of four literally last-second wins. … If somebody could knock them off, and I don’t know who that is anymore, then you move them out of the equation. Then, it really becomes the Big Ten, SEC and maybe the winner of the Pac-12.

“But right now, you still have so much at the top. You have the two elite teams in the Big Ten, you have three in the SEC. It just makes it hard because it just seems likely that the Big Ten or the SEC will get two schools in. If Clemson is still there, it doesn’t leave any room at the inn, so to speak.”

Clemson is in its bye week, but has an interesting schedule remaining. The Tigers travel to Notre Dame out of the bye before games against Louisville, Miami and the season finale against South Carolina. There’s a path for Dabo Swinney’s group to run the table and get into the CFP, but Finebaum thinks one game could present a bigger challenge than the others.

No matter how much Notre Dame has struggled this year, he doesn’t think a night game at Notre Dame Stadium will necessarily be easy.

“The only really tough game, in theory, they have is next week against Notre Dame in South Bend,” Finebaum said. “Hard to believe they’ll lose that, but they’re not dominating teams. I think a night game in South Bend, I would give Notre Dame a puncher’s chance.”