Clemson inches up again in latest CFP Top 25, this time thanks to Tennessee loss

Chapel Fowler
Jacob Kupferman/AP

After a turbulent Week 12 across the sport, Clemson got another bump in the College Football Playoff Selection Committee’s fourth set of Top 25 rankings.

The Tigers (10-1, 8-0 ACC) are still sitting outside the four-team playoff but moved from No. 9 to No. 8 in the fourth CFP ranking of the 2022 season, the committee announced Tuesday night on ESPN.

Eleven weeks into the season, No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 TCU are projected to make the four-team playoff, per the committee.

That top four is unchanged from last week’s rankings.

The committee also ranked No. 5 LSU, No. 6 Southern Cal and No. 7 Alabama ahead of Clemson. The Tigers jumped Tennessee, which dropped five spots from No. 5 to No. 10 after losing at South Carolina, and also stayed ahead of No. 9 Oregon.

Clemson capped off a perfect season in ACC play on Saturday, cruising past Miami 40-10 in what coach Dabo Swinney called the Tigers’ most complete game of the season despite some “frustrating” turnovers. The Tigers host top rival South Carolina (7-4, 4-4 SEC) this weekend in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Clemson’s clearest path back into the CFP field remains closing the regular season with a home win against USC and then beating UNC in the ACC championship game next weekend in Charlotte. UNC dropped five spots from No. 13 to No. 17 in Tuesday’s rankings after losing to unranked Georgia Tech at home last week.

That would put the Tigers at 12-1 and in the best possible position ahead of the Dec. 4 Selection Day. Still, they’d need dominoes to fall across other leagues (especially the Big 12 and the Pac-12, home to TCU and Southern Cal, respectively) to seriously contend for the No. 4 spot and a seventh playoff in eight years.

For the third consecutive week, most bowl projections forecast the Orange Bowl as Clemson’s most likely postseason destination. The Orange Bowl, played in Hard Rock Stadium near Miami, annually hosts the ACC champion or the highest remaining ACC team if the champion advances to the CFP.

The College Football Playoff Selection Committee has been tasked since 2014 with ranking and ultimately matching the No. 1 and No. 4 teams and No. 2 and No. 3 teams in semifinal games that rotate annually among six major bowls.

This season, the CFP will release updated rankings each Tuesday of November before issuing its final rankings on Sunday, Dec. 4, also known as Selection Day.

The Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, and the Peach Bowl in Atlanta will host this season’s playoff semifinals on December 31, 2022, with SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles set to host the national championship game on January 9, 2023.

Fourth CFP Top 25 ranking of 2022

  • No. 1: Georgia (11-0)

  • No. 2: Ohio State (11-0)

  • No. 3: Michigan (11-0)

  • No. 4: TCU (11-0)

  • No. 5: LSU (9-2)

  • No. 6: Southern Cal (9-2)

  • No. 7: Alabama (9-2)

  • No. 8: Clemson (10-1)

  • No. 9: Oregon (9-2)

  • No. 10: Tennessee (9-2)

  • No. 11: Penn State (9-2)

  • No. 12: Kansas State (8-3)

  • No. 13: Washington (9-2)

  • No. 14: Utah (8-3)

  • No. 15: Notre Dame (8-3)

  • No. 16: Florida State (8-3)

  • No. 17: UNC (9-2)

  • No. 18: UCLA (8-3)

  • No. 19: Tulane (9-2)

  • No. 20: Ole Miss (8-3)

  • No. 21: Oregon State (8-3)

  • No. 22: UCF (8-3)

  • No. 23: Texas (7-4)

  • No. 24: Cincinnati (9-2)

  • No. 25: Louisville (7-4)

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