Which teams that fell short in the 2024 College Football Playoff have the best chance to win it all in 2025?

CBS Sports weighed in on that this week, ranking the 2024 CFP losers with the best shot to dethrone 2024 CFP National Champion Ohio State.

Clemson checked in at No. 6 in that ranking of the 11 teams that didn’t win the 12-team CFP in 2024 but are most likely to win the national championship next season.

“Clemson has slipped from its peak under coach Dabo Swinney, but the Tigers boast some interesting ingredients in 2025,” CBS Sports’ David Cobb wrote. “With a veteran quarterback in Cade Klubnik, a rockstar defensive coordinator hire in Tom Allen from Penn State and a few transfers (yes, really!) in the mix, Clemson could be a threat in the CFP. If nothing else, a defense stocked with talent led by Allen should be among the nation’s best. Remember, Swinney does have two rings.”

Of course, Clemson (10-4, 8-1 ACC in 2024) lost at Texas, 38-24, in the first round of the 2024 CFP. The Longhorns ended up making it to the semifinals before losing to the eventual champion Buckeyes.

Texas topped CBS Sports’ ranking of the 2024 CFP losers with the best chance to win it all next season, followed by fellow 2024 CFP semifinalist Penn State, and then Georgia, which made it to the quarterfinal round. Notre Dame, which beat Georgia in that quarterfinal matchup en route to an eventual national title game appearance, is No. 5 on the list behind Oregon at No. 4.

SMU came in three spots behind Clemson at No. 9 in the CBS Sports ranking. After losing to the Tigers in the 2024 ACC Championship, the Mustangs suffered a lopsided 38-10 loss at Penn State in the first round.