Clemson Bowl projections after Week 14: Exploring Tigers' postseason eligibility

The No. 12-ranked Clemson Tigers went into Week 14 with an opportunity to give itself a better chance of making the playoffs. They had a matchup against the No. 15-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday. A win would have moved them up the rankings and into a more secure playoff spot. However, they lost 17-14 and now their playoff chances are in flux.

With the loss, the Tigers (9-3) will likely move down the rankings. As a result, the only likely path for them to make the playoffs is to win the ACC Championship Game against No. 9-ranked SMU next Saturday.

Take a look at which bowl game the Tigers could play in if they make or miss the playoffs.

Clemson bowl projections after Week 14: Exploring the Tigers' postseason chances

The only likely path for the Tigers to make the playoffs is to win the ACC Championship Game. If they do not win, it is unlikely for them to be ranked high enough to earn a playoff berth.

The five highest-ranked conference champions automatically earn a playoff berth, with the top four earning a bye through the first round. If Clemson wins the ACC Championship, it would likely earn a bye through the first round.

The final seven spots are given to the seven highest-ranked non-conference champions as determined by the CFP selection committee. Since the Tigers lost in Week 14, it is unlikely for them to have a high enough ranking to earn one of those spots. However, if they win, they will earn a spot in the Peach Bowl in round two of the 2024 college football playoffs.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, they are not favored to beat SMU in the championship game. If they lose, they will more than likely play a non-playoff bowl game. 247 Sports projects that they will play in the Holiday Bowl against Washington State.

However, there are several bowl games with ACC tie-ins. Theoretically, Clemson could also play in the Gasparilla Bowl, Birmingham Bowl, Fenway Bowl, Pinstripe Bowl, Pop-Tarts Bowl, Military Bowl, ReliaQuest Bowl, Sun Bowl and Duke's Mayo Bowl.

A final announcement of which teams will make the 2024 college football playoffs will not happen until after the championship weekend. Afterward, the final rankings will be announced along with the final seven playoff teams. Once the playoff teams are made public, bowl games will start to be announced and Clemson will find out which game it will play in.

About the author

Alexander O'Reilly is a journalist at Sportskeeda from Kingston, Ontario with over seven years in the field at companies including SenShot, RVBlogger, Monarch Media, WordAgents, GSeC LLC, and IGC.

His favorite college team is Duke, and his favorite sporting memory was Duke winning March Madness in 2010. JJ Redick was Alex's favorite college player when he was young but more recently, Caleb Williams gets the nod. As the Chicago Bears are Alex's favorite NFL team, this was a perfect match.

Alex's proudest moment came when he was interviewed by a radio station in Ottawa on his opinion on recent moves by the Ottawa Senators, which gave him a confidence boost and the knowledge that he could succeed as a writer.

Aside from sports, Alex likes to spend his time playing games. He is also very passionate about running and strives to improve at the half and full marathon distances.

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Edited by nagpaltusharn25