ESPN and SEC analyst Greg McElroy thinks Clemson has already punched its ticket for the College Football Playoff before the season as even got started.

The former Alabama quarterback was on the SEC Network Monday morning previewing the start of the league’s media days in Hoover, Alabama this week. Of course, it did not take too long before host Peter Burns brought up Clemson’s name and how it relates to the conference after the Tigers dismantled Alabama in the CFP national championship game last year.

Clemson is 10-2 in its last 12 games against SEC opponents, dating back to the end of the 2014 regular season when it beat archrival South Carolina. The Tigers host Texas A&M on Sept. 7 at Death Valley and concluded the regular season with a visit to Columbia, S.C., on Nov. 30 to face the Gamecocks.

“They are in the playoff. Punch their ticket, it’s in,” McElroy said. “They do have to play Syracuse and A&M early in the season, but you can make a very clear argument that those are their two biggest tests on the entire schedule. So, we are going to find out about Clemson more as the season goes along. But if they are challenged at any point, it is likely going to be in those first three weeks.”

McElroy is curious to see how hungry the Tigers are this season. He felt it was guys like Christian Wilkins, Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant that made them so unique to any other team last year. He felt those three, along with a big senior class motivated the team, as a whole, to complete their mission and win another national championship.

“That was what made Clemson so incredible,” he said. “They had great talent, but they also all came back collectively to finish what they started. To finish the mission.

“So, that intangible quality is going to be a little tough to recreate, especially knowing Dabo Swinney loves to beat the drum that ‘Well, nobody is giving us any credit. Nobody is talking about us. You are not loving us. We are on the Rest of Y’all bus.’ That is kind of their mantra as a program and you can’t really point to that mantra and use it with any creditability this year.”

McElroy admits he does not think Clemson is going anywhere anytime soon. He likes the talent the team has and feels Clemson has the people in place to replace the four guys they lost up front on defense. However, he is concerned about the experience factor and the leadership on defense, this year.

“I think Clemson is in a position that they are not going anywhere at all, ever,” he said. “They still are going to be elite at receiver and elite on offense, but there are some questions on the defensive side where they are going to have to replace some key people.”