ESPN analyst says Clemson's Playoff chance is "almost zero"

Metrics tell a different story than some pundits right now.

by TigerNet Staff - Mon Sep 06 19:47:00 GMT-04:00 2021

Count ESPN's Greg McElroy among the doubters that Dabo Swinney's Tigers can reach a seventh-straight Playoff.

For Swinney and the team, a Playoff bid is about the furthest thing from their minds with a whole list of improvements to make game-by-game ahead. Pundits, however, are paid to talk ball, and the Tigers' Playoff chances are a hot topic after an 0-1 start with a loss No. 5 Georgia over the weekend.

Going into the weekend, ESPN's Playoff Predictor gave Clemson a 93% chance to make the CFP if they run the table after a loss to Georgia. Don't tell McElroy that, who posited on Paul Finebaum's show Monday that the Tigers' Playoff shot is "almost zero" now.

"I think Clemson by the way -- the likelihood of them getting to that spot (national championship contention) is almost zero. They need a lot of help. They need Georgia to lose at least two games. They need Alabama at least to lose two games. They need other teams from other leagues to lose two games, because if you look at Clemson -- they will not have, based on what happened in the ACC this weekend -- they will not really have any marquee victories. They might have a few good performances and a few good wins, assuming some of the teams in the ACC improve.

"But there's not going to be that notable, statement resume-builder victory. So they need a lot of help to get back in the mix. If they don't get that help, I think they'll find themselves on the outside-looking in for the Playoff."

McElroy didn't like the look of either offense Saturday in Charlotte.

"Both offenses, I was left a little bit scratching my head," he said. "I didn’t think the creativity was there for either. I didn’t think the offensive line on either side did that well. I think Georgia did what they needed to do understanding that there was absolutely no way that Clemson was going to put a drive together. I didn't feel that at any point that Clemson's offense was just going to flip the switch and turn it on. It never felt like they had any chance. I think Georgia went in thinking, 'Man, we're going to have to score some points,' but when they realized how much of an advantage they had in the trenches -- when their defensive line was on the field against Clemson's offensive line, they went the conservative route and said, 'Hey man, let's not mess this thing up because our defense is dominating and Clemson's not going to gain an inch tonight.'

"It was a remarkable defensive performance from Georgia. It was also a fairly good defensive performance from Clemson."