Clemson’s Has 2nd-Easiest Schedule in Power Five, But Must Go Undefeated to Hit 2020 Win Total

• The Clemson Tigers have the highest win total (11.5) in all of the FBS and the shortest odds to reach the College Football Playoff (-200)
• Dabo Swinney’s team will play the second-easiest schedule among Power Five teams
• Could fans witness the first Clemson-free CFP since 2014-15

Want to talk about an easy path to the College Football Playoff? Among Power Five teams, only Syracuse has it softer than the Clemson Tigers in terms of the 2020 NCAAF strength-of-schedule rankings.

With that in mind, oddsmakers have made the task difficult as only an undefeated regular season will hit the over in their 2020 college football win total.

ACC Win Totals

Odds as of June 13th.

A top-tier program with a schedule many high schools would pine for: seems like a lock to take the over right? Not so fast. I’m taking the under here, not only because of the high total, but for two other key reasons.

Dabo Swinney Taking Heat From Critics

Nobody can criticize the job Dabo Swinney has done on the football field with the Clemson program. They are a juggernaut that continues to make the CFP and win championships. What he can be criticized for are his reactions, or lack thereof, to the Black Lives Matter movement that is currently a very prominent issue.

Trevor Lawrence defends Dabo Swinney's controversial "Football Matters" shirt: https://t.co/tN8somofoq pic.twitter.com/a27gSyGjc7

— Sporting News (@sportingnews) June 7, 2020

From the t-shirt that went viral to reports of an assistant coach on the staff using a racial slur during practice, Swinney is in hot water right now. This isn’t a political take, it’s just worth nothing that, even though players continue to defend Swinney, it’s an issue that will not go away.

College football rosters are very large and surely there are members of the Clemson Tigers, just like there are members of the media, who are not impressed with the coach’s reactions to this issue.

Not only did Dabo dare to wear that “Football Matters” t-shirt, he then said, “God loves us all.” Isn’t that equivalent to All Lives Matter? Dabo, you’re being oblivious. https://t.co/rxq0FKwSOA

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) June 9, 2020

Could Clemson Miss The College Football Playoff?

While Clemson has it pretty easy, schedule-wise, it doesn’t mean they have a BYE to the playoff and a 12-0 regular season. There is a still a road date against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish that looms large as well as other games along the way that could cause a slip up.

Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence and other teammates will lead a protest on campus Saturday. https://t.co/N7HmCdL64P

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) June 10, 2020

Nothing in 2020 has quite gone to plan. Could the college football season follow a similar path? If games are played in front of empty or partially empty stadiums, if players happen to be held out of games due to the ongoing pandemic, is it impossible to imagine a scenario where the Clemson Tigers – who have made five straight appearances – aren’t one of the four playoff teams?

With a schedule as weak as the Tigers, one loss means they are out of the hunt and that added bit of pressure could cause the slip up you’ll need to cash in your UNDER bet.

PICK: UNDER 11.5 WINS (-110)