Clemson projected back in the 2021 National Championship
While we seem to be taking steps towards a college football season, The Sporting News laid out their thoughts on what bowl season could look like this year.
The national championship game is set for January 11 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. The Semifinals will be held at the Sugar Bowl and the Rose Bowl on January 1. If Clemson is the No. 1 seed, they will play in New Orleans for the third time since 2018.
There is also a chance that the Tigers could also end in the Rose Bowl, especially if Alabama were to finish the season in the No. 1 spot. In that scenario, as long as Clemson isn’t No. 4, it seems safe to assume the Tigers would make their first appearance in “The Granddaddy of them All.”
The Sporting News projects Clemson, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Ohio State in the final four. Based on the setup presented, Clemson is either considered the No. 1 or No. 2 seed with Ohio State possibly playing that role as well.
What we can tell you is that if Ohio State is No. 1, that would most likely place a No. 2 ranked Clemson team in the Sugar Bowl, given the Big 10’s ties to the Rose Bowl.
According to the article, Clemson, Alabama, Oklahoma and Ohio State have combined for 17 of 24 total appearances.
Other notable bowl game projections:
Gasparilla Bowl - Tulsa vs. South Carolina
December 30 - Goodyear Cotton Bowl - Texas vs. Boise State
January 1 - Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl - LSU vs. Notre Dame
January 2 - PlayStation Fiesta Bowl - Georgia vs. Oregon
January 2 - Capital One Orange Bowl - North Carolina vs. Penn State
January 1 - Rose Bowl Game (semifinal) - Ohio State vs. Oklahoma
January 1 - Allstate Sugar Bowl (semifinal) - Clemson vs. Alabama
Bold: Winner
January 11 - 2021 National Championship Game: Clemson vs. Ohio State
College Football Playoff History
Clemson has been in the Top 4 of the College Football Playoff ranking 29 times, the most in the history of the CFB Playoff. Alabama is second with 28 weeks ranked in the Top 4.
| CFB Playoff Era | National Titles | No. 1 | No. 2 | No. 3 | No. 4 | Total Weeks Ranked |
| Clemson |
🏆🏆 |
8 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 29 |
| Alabama |
🏆🏆 |
18 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 28 |
| Ohio State |
🏆 |
3 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 14 |
| Notre Dame |
|
0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| Oklahoma |
|
0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| LSU | 🏆 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Michigan |
|
0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Florida State |
|
0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| Georgia | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | |
| Oregon | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| Mississippi State | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | |
| Auburn | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| Washington | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| Iowa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| TCU | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Miami | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| Ole Miss | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Michigan State | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Penn State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Texas A&M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Wisconsin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
2019
|
Week 1 |
#1 Ohio State |
#2 LSU | #3 Alabama |
#4 Penn State |
| Week 2 | #1 LSU | #2 Ohio State | #3 Clemson | #4 Georgia |
| Week 3 | #1 LSU | #2 Ohio State | #3 Clemson | #4 Georgia |
| Week 4 | #1 Ohio State | #2 LSU | #3 Clemson | #4 Georgia |
| Week 5 | #1 Ohio State | #2 LSU | #3 Clemson | #4 Georgia |
Playoff |
#1 LSU |
#2 Ohio State |
#3 Clemson |
#4 Oklahoma |
2018
|
Week 1 |
#1 Alabama |
#2 Clemson | #3 LSU |
#4 Notre Dame |
| Week 2 |
#1 Alabama |
#2 Clemson | #3 Notre Dame |
#4 Michigan |
| Week 3 |
#1 Alabama |
#2 Clemson | #3 Notre Dame |
#4 Michigan |
| Week 4 |
#1 Alabama |
#2 Clemson | #3 Notre Dame |
#4 Michigan |
| Week 5 |
#1 Alabama |
#2 Clemson | #3 Notre Dame |
#4 Georgia |
Playoff |
#1 Alabama |
#2 Clemson |
#3 Notre Dame |
#4 Oklahoma |
2017
|
Week 1 |
#1 Georgia |
#2 Alabama | #3 Notre Dame |
#4 Clemson |
| Week 2 |
#1 Georgia |
#2 Alabama | #3 Notre Dame |
#4 Clemson |
| Week 3 |
#1 Alabama |
#2 Clemson | #3 Miami |
#4 Oklahoma |
| Week 4 |
#1 Alabama |
#2 Miami | #3 Clemson |
#4 Oklahoma |
| Week 5 |
#1 Clemson |
#2 Auburn | #3 Oklahoma |
#4 Wisconsin |
Playoff |
#1 Clemson |
#2 Oklahoma |
#3 Georgia |
#4 Alabama |
2016
|
Week 1 |
#1 Alabama |
#2 Clemson | #3 Michigan |
#4 Texas A&M |
| Week 2 |
#1 Alabama |
#2 Clemson | #3 Michigan |
#4 Washington |
| Week 3 |
#1 Alabama |
#2 Ohio State | #3 Michigan |
#4 Clemson |
| Week 4 |
#1 Alabama |
#2 Ohio State | #3 Michigan |
#4 Clemson |
| Week 5 |
#1 Alabama |
#2 Ohio State | #3 Clemson |
#4 Washington |
Playoff |
#1 Alabama |
#2 Clemson |
#3 Ohio State |
#4 Washington |
2015
|
Week 1 |
#1 Clemson |
#2 LSU |
#3 Ohio State |
#4 Alabama |
| Week 2 |
#1 Clemson |
#2 Alabama |
#3 Ohio State |
#4 Notre Dame |
| Week 3 |
#1 Clemson |
#2 Alabama |
#3 Ohio State |
#4 Notre Dame |
| Week 4 |
#1 Clemson |
#2 Alabama |
#3 Oklahoma |
#4 Iowa |
| Week 5 |
#1 Clemson |
#2 Alabama |
#3 Oklahoma |
#4 Iowa |
Playoff |
#1 Clemson |
#2 Alabama |
#3 Michigan State |
#4 Oklahoma |
2014
|
Week 1 |
#1 Mississippi State | #2 Florida State | #3 Auburn |
#4 Ole Miss |
| Week 2 | #1 Mississippi State | #2 Florida State | #3 Auburn |
#4 Oregon |
| Week 3 | #1 Mississippi State | #2 Oregon | #3 Florida State |
#4 TCU |
| Week 4 | #1 Alabama | #2 Oregon | #3 Florida State |
#4 Mississippi State |
| Week 5 | #1 Alabama | #2 Oregon | #3 Florida State |
#4 Mississippi State |
| Week 6 | #1 Alabama | #2 Oregon | #3 TCU |
#4 Florida State |
Playoff |
#1 Alabama |
#2 Oregon |
#3 Florida State |
#4 Ohio State |
