CLEMSON – When Clemson fell at home to Louisville last weekend, the Tigers lost control of their own destiny.

The loss put Dabo Swinney’s team one game behind both Miami and SMU in the ACC standings and it also meant Clemson would likely lose out on a tiebreaker if one of those teams were to slip up and drop a game. Basically, they needed either the Hurricanes or Mustangs to lose two.

Well, the Tigers got some help in that regard over the weekend as Georgia Tech upset No. 4 Miami 28-23. The Hurricanes have been flirting with disaster much of the season and on Saturday karma caught up with them.

That Miami defense had shown problem signs on numerous occasions and it all came apart on Sunday as the Yellow Jackets ran all over the ‘Canes to the tune of more than 270 rushing yards.

Now, with two ACC games remaining, Clemson needs Miami to lose once more. Mario Cristobal’s team is off this week, then will host Wake Forest at home on November 23. After that, they finish with a road trip to Syracuse and the Orange have an offense that is certainly capable of exposing some of the weaknesses on that Hurricanes’ defense.

If Miami were to lose one more, that would open the door for the Tigers to lock up one of those two spots in the ACC Championship Game, where a spot in the College Football Playoff will be on the line.

However, there is another scenario in which Clemson could make it to Charlotte. This one isn’t very likely to happen, but this is college football and as we have seen all season, nothing is impossible.

The first thing that needs to take place is for Virginia to win their final two ACC contests, which would include beating SMU at home in two weeks. The second thing would be Louisville finishing behind Virginia in the ACC standings. Right now, the Cardinals are a game up on Tony Elliot’s squad.

If those things happen, then Clemson would win the tiebreaker over SMU by virtue of the win over the Cavaliers. Admittedly, there are a lot of “ifs” in that scenario and again, it isn’t likely to happen.

However, all of this is moot if Clemson can’t travel up to Pitt on Saturday and knock off the Panthers. It’s a game this team must win in order to have any hope of making it to Charlotte. The Tigers are currently 10.5 point road favorites and Pitt is facing some injury concerns. That includes starting quarterback Eli Holstein, who left Saturday’s loss to Virginia with a head injury.

Clemson will enter the weekend sitting at 7-2 overall and 6-1 in ACC play, while the Panthers are 7-2 and 3-2. The Tigers were No. 23 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings, and should move up, at least a spot or two, when the updated rankings come out on Tuesday night. The Panthers were No. 18 and might very well drop out all together.

Kickoff is set for noon and ESPN will have the television broadcast.

A limited number of signed replica road signs from Cade Klubnik are available!  Visit Clemson Variety & Frame or purchase online!