College Football Playoff Projections 2018: Field narrows after Week 8

Tigers Improve by Default

Only a few weeks ago we were seriously doubting the Clemson Tigers. After Dabo Swinney named Trevor Lawrence the starting quarterback, and Kelly Bryant announced he would leave, Clemson looked like they might drop off.

The Tigers barely escaped upset at home against Syracuse in Lawrence’s first start. But since then, Clemson has outscored their last two opponents 104-10, which is the best in college football. Lawrence has proven himself as a more than capable starting quarterback. This week against an undefeated NC State team, he completed 26 of his 39 passes for 308 yards and a touchdown.

Many believed Clemson was on upset alert against this Wolfpack team, especially since they were ranked at No. 16 and had not yet lost this year. However, the Clemson defense performed the way we have expected them to play this entire year and did not allow NC State to gain any momentum throughout the game.

Next week the Tigers head to Tallahassee to take on Florida State. In years past, this game has been competitive. But the Seminoles are not nearly the team they have been. Although, Florida State has played much better recently than they did to start the season, so we may see a relatively competitive game.