Fansided

No, Clemson is not out of the College Football Playoff picture

By Patrick Schmidt

SYRACUSE, NY - OCTOBER 13: Kelly Bryant #2 of the Clemson Tigers warms up before the game against the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome on October 13, 2017 in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
SYRACUSE, NY - OCTOBER 13: Kelly Bryant #2 of the Clemson Tigers warms up before the game against the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome on October 13, 2017 in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /
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Clemson lost to Syracuse on Friday night but don’t even begin to write off the Tigers in the running for a College Football Playoff berth.

Extreme reactions are the norm for college football fans. We saw this last week when Miami beat Florida State and proclamations of Miami being back flooded the internet. We saw this last week when Oklahoma lost to Iowa State and Baker Mayfield’s Heisman hopes and the Sooners’ playoff chances were immediately dead on arrival.

While hyperbole and hot takes are fine if that’s your style, don’t bring that into the mix when discussing the Clemson Tigers. Clemson is feeling down after the reigning national champions were upset on the road at Syracuse on Friday night, but they’re not out of the College Football Playoff picture because they suffered their first loss of the year.

The margin of error is now gone as they’ll have to win out, which will be a challenge with NC State, Florida State and a potential ACC Championship Game against Miami or Virginia Tech, who they’ve already beaten. Clemson with one loss and a ACC championship? That sounds familiar to the last two years when they made the College Football Playoff and won last year and lost in the title game two years ago.

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So you sound pretty ridiculous if you think one loss eliminates them when they’ve made the playoff each of the last two years with that resume. In fact, the November loss to Pitt was more damaging than a mid-October loss to Syracuse is, even if the playoff committee is supposed to not factor timing of losses into the equation.

The biggest loss of the night wasn’t the one to Syracuse. The biggest loss for Clemson was to quarterback Kelly Bryant who had to leave after suffering a concussion at the end of the first half. Bryant was already playing on an injured ankle, that in hindsight, probably should have kept him on the sideline. If Bryant is forced to miss additional time with the concussion, that will test Clemson’s playoff, because backup quarterback, Zerrick Cooper against NC State in two weeks could be a tough test for him.

Clemson’s playoff hopes are alive, but they hinge on the recovery of Bryant from the ankle and concussion. If Bryant is able to return and play like he did pre-injury, Clemson will have a path to the four-team postseason.

So stop with the hyperbole and the hot takes. Clemson is not out. Clemson’s season is not over. It was a setback, a stunning loss, but not one that will put the Tigers six feet under.

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