Clemson not among the national title hopefuls grossly overlooks 3 distinct advantages

Count the Clemson Tigers out at your own peril. While the last handful of years have not been overly kind to the program, Clemson has won two College Football Playoffs before, played in seven of the first 12, and made it back into the first 12-team playoff two years ago. That team may have gone 9-3, but it goes to show that the Tigers are not as dead as everyone claims they are under Dabo Swinney.

Almost unbelievably, the Tigers were not one of the 18 teams ESPN's Bill Connelly think can win it all.

• Ohio State Buckeyes
• Notre Dame Fighting Irish
• Texas Longhorns
• Indiana Hoosiers
• Oregon Ducks
• Georgia Bulldogs
• Miami Hurricanes
• LSU Tigers
• Texas Tech Red Raiders
• Texas A&M Aggies
• Ole Miss Rebels
• Oklahoma Sooners
• Alabama Crimson Tide
• USC Trojans
• Michigan Wolverines
• Tennessee Volunteers
• BYU Cougars
• Missouri Tigers

The 18 teams listed above had anywhere from three to four to five big ifs that needed to be met for them to win a national championship. To see 12 teams that have never won the playoffs before, and three that have never even qualified for them before, is insulting to our intelligence. The fact there is only one ACC team on this list brings into question a much larger issue at hand. This league is so wild!

Along with the ACC being unpredictable, let's unpack that and two more reasons to include Clemson.

Clemson offers 3 strong reasons why it should be a national title hopeful

The first has been mentioned, but it cannot be stressed enough. The ACC does not care what is best for the ACC. If that were true, then Miami would have been shoehorned into the conference title bout last year instead of Duke, who won the league's crown with a 7-5 overall record. Tiebreaking changes be damned, all Clemson has to do is find a way to get to Charlotte again for them to be a contender.

The second something to do with the ACC, but more along the lines of the league being a Power Four conference. After Duke got left out of the playoffs last year, despite winning the ACC, the College Football Playoff adopted another wholesale change to how it selects a field. As long as you win the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, or SEC, there will be a seat for you at the table, no matter what your record is.

And finally, let's not overlook what Swinney has done so far in his coaching career. He is the greatest head coach in program history. While things have gotten increasingly difficult in a post-COVID world, one defined by NIL, he knows what it takes to motivate his players to get on top. Although a third national title may not be coming for him before he steps away, just know that he has done this before.

ALSO READ: Paul Finebaum used a fast food chain to embarrass Dabo Swinney in his latest takedown

Overall, Clemson should have been included on this list with Louisville and SMU out of the ACC. If Connelly wanted to keep it to 20 teams, maybe remove Missouri from the equation? What have those Tigers ever won? This is not about being beholden to one's past, but rather understanding how the new playoff field could be played out, and if Clemson could take advantage of the situation at hand.

Because Clemson still has Swinney and plays in the chaotic AQ league that is the ACC, it has a shot.

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This article was originally published on rubbingtherock.com as Clemson not among the national title hopefuls grossly overlooks 3 distinct advantages.