Getting warmer: Clemson football bowl projections come into focus

Chapel Fowler
·3 min read
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Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney nailed it when forecasting his program’s bowl game projections following an upset of No. 22 UNC.

“The more we win, the warmer it gets,” he said Saturday.

That’s primarily the case in an updated round of bowl projections for the Tigers (7-4, 4-4 ACC) entering their regular season finale at rival South Carolina.

National media outlets seem to be zeroing in on the Dec. 27 Holiday Bowl in San Diego as Clemson’s most likely destination after a three-game winning streak has the program on the cusp of an 8-4 final record after a 4-4 start.

Predictions from The Action Network, 247Sports, CBS Sports and ESPN all placed Clemson in the Holiday Bowl — one of the ACC’s upper-tier bowl assignments — in an intriguing matchup against No. 15 Oregon State, which features former Tigers starter DJ Uiagalelei at quarterback.

Uiagalelei was 22-6 as a starter at Clemson from 2020-22 but transferred last December after Cade Klubnik emerged as the team’s quarterback of the future in the ACC championship game.

Nov 11, 2023; Corvallis, Oregon, USA; Oregon State Beavers quarterback DJ Uiagalelei (5) leaves the field after the game against the Stanford Cardinal at Reser Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 11, 2023; Corvallis, Oregon, USA; Oregon State Beavers quarterback DJ Uiagalelei (5) leaves the field after the game against the Stanford Cardinal at Reser Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Uiagalelei also went viral this spring when he critiqued Clemson’s offensive scheme and how coaches handled the quarterback situation there, though Swinney took the high road weeks later and has continued to praise Uiagalelei publicly amid his success at Oregon State.

The Holiday Bowl is played at Petco Park, home of the MLB’s San Diego Padres, and featured an 8-5 UNC team as its ACC representative last season. The Tar Heels lost 28-27 to Oregon, the bowl’s Pac-12 representative at 9-3.

Other projections for Clemson include placements in the Dec. 29 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida and the Dec. 28 Pinstripe Bowl in New York.

As noted by TigerNet, one interesting development that could affect Clemson’s bowl chances is Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis’ leg injury Saturday against North Alabama.

Travis was carted off the field in the first quarter after a scary injury and, assuming he’s unavailable for the Seminoles’ regular-season finale and the ACC championship game, his absence could hurt FSU, the current No. 4 team in the College Football Playoff rankings.

Even if the Seminoles win out against Florida and Louisville in the ACC title game, the CFP committee could potentially leave them out of the four-team field due to Travis’ injury — which would essentially bump every ACC team down a spot in the bowl pecking order and give Florida State and Louisville (in that order) prime bowl spots. A Louisville win, obviously, would have the same effect.

Either way, Clemson’s set to play in only its second non-New Year’s Six Bowl since 2014 after a season that’ll fall short of the program’s lofty expectations. The Tigers play at rival South Carolina in their regular-season finale Saturday and are a 7.5-point road favorite (7:30 p.m., SEC Network).

Updated Clemson bowl projections

Entering Week 13 games

Not updated through Week 12 games **