ESPN's Dinich: Clemson is the one-loss team with the best path to the playoffs

With September in the books, we're a month closer to the first 12-team College Football Playoff, and some playoff contenders have positioned themselves better than others after the first month of the 2024 season.

According to ESPN's Heather Dinich, Clemson is one of those teams in a good position heading into the playoffs in Week 6.

Despite a lopsided loss to Georgia in the season opener, Dinich sees the Tigers (3-1, 2-0 ACC) as the one-loss team with the best path to the playoffs at the end of September.

Dinich, ESPN's top CFP insider, explained why she believes this to be the case.

“First, the Tigers have a manageable schedule until the end,” Dinich wrote in an ESPN article published Thursday (subscription required). “Their toughest game remaining is against Louisville, and they have home-field advantage on November 2nd. Second, if they can maintain this offensive improvement, they have a good chance of winning the ACC, and the top five ranked conference champions are guaranteed a playoff spot. Let's add a third reason: The loss to Georgia (as one-sided as it was) was still a neutral loss against a team that should be in the top 10.

“While the Tigers may not face multiple ranked opponents, the committee will still respect road wins at Virginia Tech and Pitt, as well as a win against SEC rival South Carolina. ESPN Analytics gives Clemson at least a 50% chance of winning each of its remaining games. If we can do that, the path to the playoffs will likely come through Miami in the ACC title game.”

As Dinich mentioned, the 12-team playoff field will feature the top five ranked conference champions. The next seven highest-ranked teams, as determined by the CFP Selection Committee, also advance to the playoffs. The four highest-ranked conference champions are seeded one through four and receive first-round byes, with the fifth-highest ranked conference champion seeded where they were placed or at No. 12 if their final ranking is outside the top 12.

Clemson is looking to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2020 after making six straight playoff appearances in the four-team field from 2015-2020.

After the loss to Georgia, the Tigers will look for their fourth straight win when they face Florida State (1-4, 1-3 ACC) on Saturday (7 p.m., ESPN) at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee.

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