After missing the College Football Playoff three straight years from 2021-23, Clemson made the inaugural 12-team CFP last season, and the Tigers are hoping to get back there again in 2025.

But what is the biggest hurdle that Clemson must clear as a contender for the 12-team playoff?

Heather Dinich, ESPN’s lead College Football Playoff insider, recently weighed in on the biggest obstacles facing 12 playoff contenders next season (subscription required).

For Clemson, Dinich says the biggest obstacle for the Tigers – something that could derail their playoff hopes – is the SEC.

Specifically, what if Clemson loses to both LSU and South Carolina, and does not win the ACC?

Here’s what Dinich had to say about that in her article:

Clemson is deep and talented enough to win the ACC, which would guarantee the Tigers a return trip to the playoff as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions, but what if they go 0-2 against LSU and rival South Carolina and don’t win their conference? Last year, Clemson went 0-2 against the SEC, losing to Georgia and South Carolina, but the three-loss Tigers still made the playoff because they won the ACC. Clemson doesn’t face Miami or SMU during the regular season, but what if the Tigers lost in the ACC title game and were a three-loss CFP contender again? They’d be banking on an at-large bid, and without at least splitting one of those SEC games, the selection committee could easily rank another team higher that either had fewer losses, more impressive wins — or both. The most likely scenario — at least looking at it in March — is that Clemson either needs to win the ACC again, or avoid another 0-2 record against the SEC.

Dinich wrote that Clemson doesn’t face SMU during the regular season, but the Tigers will in fact play SMU on Oct. 18 at Death Valley.

Of course, it will be a rematch of the two teams’ thrilling 2024 ACC Championship Game. The Tigers and Mustangs met for the first time in series history last December, when Nolan Hauser’s 56-yard walk-off field goal gave Clemson its record 22nd ACC title and sent the Tigers to their seventh College Football Playoff.

Clemson was the No. 12 seed in the playoff and fell to No. 5 seed Texas, 38-24, in the first-round matchup in Austin.

Coming off its eighth ACC Championship in the last 10 seasons, and its first CFP berth since 2020, Clemson (10-4, 7-1 ACC in 2024) was ranked No. 7 in ESPN’s way-too-early top 25 ahead of the 2025 season.

Clemson opens the campaign against LSU on Aug. 30 at Death Valley and finishes the regular season at South Carolina on Nov. 29.