As the number of undefeated teams continues to shrink in college football, Clemson seems to have cemented itself in the College Football Playoff discussion as most people see the Tigers winning out to finish the regular season undefeated. However, there is at least one scenario where the Tigers could still be left out from the top four teams in the CFP.

Heather Dinich, an ESPN reporter who covers the CFP and its committee, said on The David Glenn Show, that hypothetically, if Clemson sneaks by Wake Forest and South Carolina and wins but doesn’t look great in the ACC Championship Game against what will likely be a 3-loss Coastal division champ, then they open the door to potentially be left out as an undefeated conference champ.

She also clarified a misconception about the CFP committee.

“I think one of the most common is that the committee cares about what happens in previous years,” she said. “For example, Clemson’s national title and the fact that Big Ten champs have been left out, those things don’t matter.”

This is not good news for Dabo Swinney and a fan base that has been largely apoplectic about the defending national champion Tigers being ranked No. 5 in the initial rankings before they moved up to No. 3 this week, something that was greeted with sarcastic applause.