An ESPN college football analyst recently chimed in on Clemson’s 2024 schedule and the Tigers’ chances of making the College Football Playoff next season.

During an episode of his Always College Football show, Greg McElroy gave some thoughts on the competition that Dabo Swinney’s team will face in the fall, starting with the season-opener against Georgia in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 31.

“Now the schedule is very difficult for the Clemson Tigers. It gets kicked off in a neutral site game against the Georgia Bulldogs. That’ll be in Atlanta. That’ll be a very difficult game,” McElroy said. “We know Georgia’s going to be a top-two, top-three team at worst heading into this upcoming season, so that game’s a toss-up. Lean Georgia, though, at least at the moment. So right now, you’re looking at a possibility for the second straight year where Dabo Swinney might start 0-1.”

McElroy then overviewed other games on the 2024 schedule for Clemson, which ended the 2023 season on a five-game winning streak to finish 9-4 (4-4 ACC).

“You’ve got Appalachian State. NC State comes to you. Very tricky game, but the fact that it’s in Death Valley, I feel a lot better about Clemson’s chances there,” McElroy said. “Stanford comes to you as well. You go to Florida State there on Oct. 5. That’ll be a very difficult game, but one that Clemson is not scared of. They’ll play at a high level in that one.

“And then things down the stretch get a little bit more manageable. They’re at Wake Forest. Virginia and Louisville come to them. Wake Forest on the road shouldn’t be too chaotic of an environment there in Winston-Salem, so they should handle their business when they go on the road there in that three-game stretch. They go to Virginia Tech, be very tricky on Nov. 9. Be careful in that game. Be very, very careful. At Pitt – still not sold on Pitt necessarily turning the corner just yet. Citadel, and then South Carolina comes to Clemson this year. I think they’ll handle their business.”

McElroy sees Clemson’s chances of making the playoff as 33 percent – the same playoff probability he pegged for Florida State and Miami as well.

“So I’m going a three-wide net there in the ACC,” he said. “Playoff probability for the Clemson Tigers at 33 percent.”

Clemson heads into next season hoping to make the inaugural 12-team playoff after missing the four-team field in each of the last three seasons.

How many games does McElroy envision the Tigers winning in 2024?

“I think they’re looking at about a 10-2 season as well. I think 11-1 is very much possible,” he said. “It really hinges on that Florida State game. They can get the Florida State game on the road, I think their playoff probability increases drastically. But if they can’t get that one, I think it drops significantly.”

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