'We're Back': Lawrence dials up another College Football Playoff trip
Feel the difference - The MOST DIGITAL CONTENT covering your CLEMSON TIGERS! Avoid clickbait and sites bloated with advertising!
After Clemson dismantled Notre Dame 34-10 yesterday, during his postgame interview, Trevor Lawrence, knowing the Tigers had sealed their record-setting sixth straight trip to the College Football Playoff, said what everyone watching knew, “We’re back. We’re back again,” – oh yeah, and “We’re Ready.”
The Tigers sure looked ready, mauling the Fighting Irish getting out to a 24-3 lead by halftime.
Lawrence, the best player in college football, put his stamp on the ACC Championship, going 25-36 for 322 yards with two touchdowns and one early interception following a tipped ball. The 6’6 Heisman candidate also rushed for 90 yards on 14 carries with a score showcasing why he’s been considered one of the best players in America since stepping on campus three short seasons ago.
In a surprising move, the No. 2 Tigers will face the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes in New Orleans while No. 1 Alabama will play No. 4 Notre Dame in the Rose Bowl in Dallas.
Clemson has now been ranked in the Top 4 all but once since the first week of rankings back in 2015. The only week they were left out was Week 1 last season. The Tigers have also been ranked in the Top 4 in 34 of the last 35 CFP Playoff releases.
Clemson’s 34 rankings in the Playoff Poll are tops all-time, making them the most prolific program in the CFB Playoff Era's history with six consecutive trips to the playoff under their belt, along with winning two national titles in that time.
Alabama is second all-time with 33 weeks ranked in the CFB Playoff poll, dating back to 2014. However, the Crimson Tide has been ranked No. 1 in the CFB Playoff rankings more than every other college football team combined with 23 weeks at the top.
The College Football Playoff matches the No. 1 ranked team vs. No. 4, and No. 2 vs. No. 3 in semifinal games that rotate annually among six bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl, and Rose Bowl Game.
This season's Playoff Semifinals will take place Friday, January 1, 2021, at the Rose Bowl Game, which will be played in Dallas this year, and the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
The College Football Playoff National Championship will be Monday, January 11, 2021, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
| CFB Playoff Era | National Titles | No. 1 | No. 2 | No. 3 | No. 4 | Total Weeks Ranked |
| Clemson |
🏆🏆 |
8 | 11 | 11 | 4 | 34 |
| Alabama |
🏆🏆 |
23 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 33 |
| Ohio State |
🏆 |
3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 18 |
| Notre Dame |
|
0 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 15 |
| 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 |
| ALL-TIME COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF APPEARANCES | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Total Appearances |
Overall Wins |
Overall Losses |
Pct. | Playoff Semifinals |
National Championship Game |
| Alabama | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0.666 | 4-1 | 2-2 |
| Clemson | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0.666 | 4-1 | 2-2 |
| Ohio State | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 | 1-2 | 1-0 |
| Oklahoma | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0.000 | 0-4 | 0-0 |
| LSU | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 1-0 | 1-0 |
| Oregon | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.500 | 1-0 | 0-1 |
| Georgia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.500 | 1-0 | 0-1 |
| Notre Dame | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0-1 | 0-0 |
| Florida State | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0-1 | 0-0 |
| Michigan State | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0-1 | 0-0 |
| Washington | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0-1 | 0-0 |
2020
|
Week 1 |
#1 Alabama | #2 Notre Dame | #3 Clemson | #4 Ohio State |
| Week 2 | #1 Alabama | #2 Notre Dame | #3 Clemson | #4 Ohio State |
| Week 3 | #1 Alabama | #2 Notre Dame | #3 Clemson | #4 Ohio State |
| Week 4 | #1 Alabama | #2 Notre Dame | #3 Clemson | #4 Ohio State |
| Playoff | #1 Alabama | #2 Clemson | #3 Ohio State | #4 Notre Dame |
| Semifinals |
Rose Bowl (in Dallas) No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Notre Dame |
Sugar Bowl No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Ohio State |
||
| Championship | ||||
| 🏆 | ||||
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 |
No. 4 Oklahoma |
| Semifinals | No. 1 LSU 63, No. 4 Oklahoma 28 |
No. 3 Clemson 29, No. 2 Ohio State 23 |
||
| Championship | No. 1 LSU 42, No. 3 Clemson 25 |
|||
| 🏆 | LSU Tigers (15-0) | |||
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 |
| Semifinals | No. 1 Alabama 45, No. 4 Oklahoma 34 |
No. 2 Clemson 30, No. 3 Notre Dame 3 |
||
| Championship | No. 2 Clemson 44, No. 1 Alabama 16 |
|||
| 🏆 | Clemson Tigers (15-0) | |||
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 |
| Semifinals | No. 4 Alabama 24, No. 1 Clemson 6 |
No. 3 Georgia 54, No. 2 Oklahoma 48 (2OT) |
||
| Championship | No. 4 Alabama 26, No. 3 Georgia 23 (OT) |
|||
| 🏆 | Alabama Crimson Tide (13-1) | |||
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 |
| Semifinals | No. 1 Alabama 24, No. 4 Washington 7 |
No. 2 Clemson 31, No. 3 Ohio State 0 |
||
| Championship | No. 2 Clemson 35, No. 1 Alabama 31 |
|||
| 🏆 | Clemson Tigers (14-1) | |||
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 |
| Semifinals | No. 1 Clemson 37 No. 4 Oklahoma 17 |
No. 2 Alabama 38, No. 3 Michigan State 0 |
||
| Championship | No. 2 Alabama 45, No. 1 Clemson 40 |
|||
| 🏆 | Alabama Crimson Tide (14-1) | |||
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 |
| Semifinals | No. 4 Ohio State 42, No. 1 Alabama 35 |
No. 2 Oregon 59, No. 3 Florida State 20 |
||
| Championship | No. 4 Ohio State 42, No. 2 Oregon 20 |
|||
| 🏆 | Ohio State Buckeyes (14-1) | |||
If the College Football Playoff started today
#1 Alabama (11-0) vs. #4 Notre Dame (10-1)
#2 Clemson (10-1) vs #3 Ohio State (6-0)
Outside looking in:
No. 5 Texas A&M (8-1)
No. 6 Oklahoma (8-2)
No. 7 Florida (8-3)
No. 8 Cincinnati (9-0)
No. 9 Georgia (7-2)
No. 10 Iowa State (8-3)
No. 11 Indiana (6-1)
No. 12 Coastal Carolina (11-0)
No. 13 North Carolina (8-3)
No. 14 Northwestern (6-2)
No. 15 Iowa (6-2)
No. 16 BYU (10-1)
No. 17 USC (5-1)
No. 18 Miami (FL) (8-2)
No. 19 Louisiana (9-1)
No. 20 Texas (6-3)
No. 21 Oklahoma State (7-3)
No. 22 San Jose State (7-0)
No. 23 NC State (8-3)
No. 24 Tulsa (6-2)
No. 25 Oregon (4-2)
