Nothing is getting better for a struggling Clemson Tigers. Yeah, that might be Dabo Swinney’s current emotion to pick as his team’s 8-2 overall, 7-1 in ACC standing doesn’t match up with the standard set in his head. But the reality isn’t as bad as it looks. After a vicious week, 13 played spoiler on bigwigs like Alabama and Ole Miss playoff hope. Elsewhere on the earth, Tigers’ stocks are rising. Sounds flimsy? Let’s hear from the ESPN expert’s POV.

Amidst the growing chaos in the playoff chart, the Tigers might be a beneficiary. ESPN raised up a spot at No. 16 for Clemson following their statement 51-14 victory over the Citadel Bulldogs, with Texas A&M and South Carolina posing a threat. At this point, it’s logical to think they need an ACC championship or some help from other teams in the roster (SMU and Miami) to stay relevant in the CFP chart. But an ESPN analyst noted, “For Clemson, with all those losses, could they be in a play with a Carolina win? Well, they are in play with a Carolina win. South Carolina has been playing well, so a ranked win, and people forget about the Louisville loss. Clemson can be in the Penn State mode, don’t have to get to the ACC championship game; just hang out and get a bid.”

However, despite a bypass of the way to stick to the playoff, the bottom line is the Tigers need to take care of their business against the Gamecocks. A loss can seriously detail all the hopes for Swinney.

However, the Clemson head coach had a solid boost under his belt, racking up a dominant 51-14 victory at Death Valley.’‘I know we are supposed to win the National Championship every year, but it is hard to have that kind of consistency for that long,” Swinney bragged about 14 years of winning at least nine consecutive games. “I’m really proud of that.”

Swinney, 55, has always put his team on a pedestal. Despite a swinging season, he continued to back up the Tiger’s strength. He even called out the CFP committee for snubbing the ACC, particularly the Clemson Tigers, in the CFP rankings.

Dabo Swinney threw shades at CFP for anti-ACC bias

The new top-12 college football format inflicted a lot of chaos in the process. You might argue that it will broaden the room for teams to slide into the playoff path. However, Swinney has a debate: it doesn’t obey its own rulebook. Well, to elaborate, the NCAA’s new norm suggests that the ACC and Big 12 top programs will be in the playoffs. On the flip, the Big 10 and SEC will rule the ranking chart. But as we see, ACC representation is borderline in the playoff. Nine out of the top 12 ranks, programs hail from the Big 10 or the SEC, and the tenth one, Notre Dame, stands independent.

Swinney called out the CFP for a visible disparity in the pen and paper rule and the practices. “We got the second-most playoff wins, we won eight league titles in the last 12 years. We’ve scheduled tough. All you can do is play the schedule that you have. We basically have an SEC-Big Ten Invitational. That’s really what we got in college football,” the Clemson coach put forward his point clean and straight.

But, the latest ESPN perspective might calm down his concern and the grievance a bit. Again, the key point is a win against the Gamecocks. So what’s your take on Dabo Swinney finding an easy alternative to an ACC championship game to stick to the playoff bubble?