How powerhouse Clemson became the College Football Playoff’s first 12-seed ‘Cinderella’ team

When the format of the 12-team College Football Playoff was approved, there was a set of assumptions about the role and look of the 12-seed. With automatic bids guaranteed to the highest-ranked conference champions and a convenient count of four power conferences with the opportunity to secure four first-round byes, the belief heading into the year was that the 12-seed would be occupied by conference champion from the Group of Five and the CFP’s first true Cinderella.

A Group of Five team did make the field during the four-team era, but Cincinnati is now in a power conference, — and the run of high-level success the Bearcats boasted didn’t make for a plucky underdog story at the time.

No, the 12-seed as we imagined it would be a team that more closely resembles the Cinderella stories we get from the NCAA Tournament. Those examples are teams emerging from conferences with fewer resources and finding a way to level the playing field with tenacity and resolve. It’s a single-game elimination tournament, after all. So when a team can raise its level of play on the biggest stage and advance ahead of the favorite, it serves as an inspiration to underdogs everywhere. The expanded College Football Playoff was designed to increase access, interest and hope to the entire FBS landscape, and we thought that 12-seed would embody that hope.

Except the bracket was revealed and we look up to see the 12-seed in the 2024-25 College Football Playoff is one of the winningest programs of the College Football Playoff era.

There’s not a lot about Clemson football that screams “plucky underdog.” The Tigers have made seven College Football Playoff appearances since the format debuted in 2014, which ranks second only to Alabama (8). Clemson is also one of only three programs to win multiple championships in the CFP era — Alabama (3) and Georgia (2) are the others. The Tigers made four national title games with two wins (both against Alabama) from 2015-19.

While Clemson may share very little with our idea of a Cinderella, the Tigers have found themselves with the opportunity to write a fairytale finish to their season. They’ve been counted out multiple times in recent years and all but eliminated from the title picture even deep into November, but the unlikely series of events provided a redemption opportunity for this proud program.

Disappointment from Day 1 

The 2023 season marked the end of many impressive streaks for the Tigers. The Tigers finished 9-4 overall with a 4-4 mark in conference play, marking the first time since 2010 that Clemson had not won 10 or more games and the first time since 2010 the team had not at least 6-2 against league opponents. A Gator Bowl win over Kentucky extended what is now a 12-season run of top-20 finishes in the AP Top 25 poll, but the season still represented a slip from the standard of championship contention.

Reclaiming that standard became the focus of the offseason, and there was plenty of reason to think a big bounce back was coming in 2024. Returning starter Cade Klubnik was due to take a big step forward in his second year paired with offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, and some of the young talent that flashed in 2023 — particularly on defense — was expected to shine. Clemson was considered a co-favorite to win the ACC with reigning champion Florida State and held a top-10 preseason ranking.

No one was mentioning Clemson in the same group as Georgia, Ohio State, Texas or Oregon, but the Tigers were among the most intriguing teams heading into the year given the potential for a return to glory.

And then the season opener arrived, where a 34-3 loss to Georgia suggested the Clemson and the top of the sport had not been closed over the offseason. The Tigers defense played well deep into the game before the dam broke, and the Bulldogs were able to pile on points late in a way that might discredit the competitiveness of the first half. Cade Klubnik was ineffective and the offense showed many of the same woes that had plagued most of the post-Trevor Lawrence era for the Tigers. 

There was a fire sale on Clemson stock, so to speak, as their odds to win the national title tanked. It’s unfair to overreact to Week 1, but many moved on from their consideration of Clemson as a real player in 2024. 

The run that saved the season 

Written off by the college football world, the Tigers focused on the challenges ahead and proceeded to drop the hammer on opponents in a way that resembled the glory days of the previous decade. Clemson won six straight games by double digits, putting up 40 or more points in five of those wins, and Cade Klubnik began to position himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the ACC. That progress flew under the radar in part because of Cam Ward’s eye-popping offensive production at Miami and the aforementioned Georgia loss, but what Clemson fans saw from their quarterback and the offense as a whole was the explosiveness required to win heavyweight fights.

Then things began to unravel — again.

Injuries along the offensive line made it tough to run the ball with any kind of consistency, and an offense that had been humming got stuck in the mud. The Tigers did not score more than 24 points against an FBS opponent for the rest of the regular season. On Nov. 2 they fell to Louisville 33-21 to Louisville as a double-digit home favorite in one of the most stunning losses of the Swinney era. 

Clemson had long dominated ACC competition in Death Valley in night games under Swinney. That made for a shocking sight when fans were seen heading for the exit early with the visiting Cards leading 26-7 in the fourth quarter. It was only the first ACC loss of the season, but the Tigers had now suffered two lopsided losses on the year. 

Many wrote them off — again. 

Clemson’s defense showed up in a big way to help right the ship in a win at Virginia Tech. Then came the moment that Clemson’s season found its second life. The Tigers played their ACC finale against Pitt on the road on Nov. 16. A win — and a finish 7-1 in conference play — was the best path to keeping playoff hopes alive. Both Clemson and Pitt were severely limited by injuries along their offensive lines, and the game itself was a war with defenses holding the upper hand. Spectacular individual playmaking was required to move the ball, and after blowing a 10-point fourth-quarter lead, that’s exactly what Clemson got.

Klubnik and the offense got the ball with 1:36 remaining, down 20-17, and the Tigers quarterback put the team — and the season — on his back.

A spectacular 50-yard touchdown run kept Clemson in the ACC title hunt and the College Football Playoff picture. Klubnik’s fiery celebration ignited the sideline. Seemingly everything had been breaking the wrong way for Clemson, but this moment captured the imagination of what could be in 2024.  

Clemson’s pumpkin becomes a carriage 

Finishing 7-1 in conference play wasn’t enough to secure a spot in the ACC Championship Game going into the final week of the regular season. SMU had had already punched its ticket to the title game. The other spot came down to to Miami — which had one conference loss to Georgia Tech — or Clemson. The Hurricanes held the tiebreaker over Clemson and needed a win over Syracuse to clinch their place in the title game. 

Clemson, meanwhile, finished its regular season in a nonconference rivalry game against South Carolina. The Tigers played a great game against their bitter rival only to have it ripped away in the final minutes by a LaNorris Sellars touchdown run and an end-zone interception from Cade Klubnik. 

Miami and Syracuse kicked off right as the Tigers’ game ended. A Clemson group already hearbroken by a rivalry loss had to watch as the Hurricanes jumped out ot a 21-0 lead over the Orange. 

But then Kyle McCord led Syracuse on a 35-7 run to help the Orange pull off the upset win. Syracuse coach Fran Brown shouted out to Swinney on TV and later FaceTimed him to say “you’re welcome.” Swinney passed the message along to his team.

“Our story is not done,” Swinney told the group during the week leading up to the ACC Championship Game. But the Tigers were in for a fight.

Clemson came out swinging early in the ACC Championship Game, forcing turnovers and jumping out to a 24-7 lead in the first half. But the Mustangs came roaring back, piling up scoring drives and stops to eventually tie the game 31-31 with 16 seconds to play. In a season full of high-stakes overtime games, it seemed as though we were destined for another to cap off championship weekend.  But Klubnik believed there was enough time on the clock to set up for a field goal, especially after a stellar 41-yard return from Adam Randall. Klubnik went to work at the Clemson 45-yard line with three seconds left, and he found the always-reliable Antonio Williams in a soft spot of SMU’s secondary for a quick 17-yard gain to get into field goal range.

Nolan Hauser delivered a thunderous 56-yard walk-off field goal to win Clemson’s seventh ACC Championship since 2015 and secure the Tigers’ first College Football Playoff berth since 2020.

The Tigers have enjoyed plenty of time inside college football’s castle over the past decade, but after two years of more rags than riches, this felt like a fairytale moment for the program.

Clemson’s SEC neighbors had played the role of overbearing step-sisters, constantly belittling “little ole Clemson” and it’s less-glamorous lot in life. Nothing about Clemson’s trophy case screams Cinderella, but for a roster of players who have been counted out from championship contention multiple times over this is the essence of the Cinderella glow-up. 

When will midnight strike? 

To finish the Cinderella story and CFP bust brackets, Clemson needs more than fairy godmother dust. The Tigers still have win on Saturday against Texas to give us the true 12-over-5-seed upset fans have been anticipating since the approval of the 12-team format. That means winning on the road as a double-digit underdog — and there’s no doubt the Longhorns have spent the last two weeks stewing over missed opportunities from the overtime loss to Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. 

When midnight strikes, Clemson’s carriage will turn back into a pumpkin and the imperfections that left the Tigers on the outside of the national title picture for much of the season will again be revealed. But for now the Tigers are in the big dance, looking spectacular and surging with a confidence we have not seen in a couple years. Clemson as a program is nothing like Cinderella we imagined, but within the context of their climb back to the top they have certainly tapped into something magical.