Clemson bowl projections following a rivalry win over South Carolina

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Clemson closed out its 7–5 regular season on a four-game surge and now waits to learn its postseason destination when announcements are made on Sunday, Dec. 7. The ACC title game between Virginia and Duke will shape the conference’s bowl order, though only Virginia realistically has a path toward the Playoff. With 11 league teams eligible and a long list of tie-ins, the Tigers land somewhere in the middle of a crowded field.

The ACC doesn’t publicly outline its 2025 bowl ladder, but reporting indicates a loose structure: Pop-Tarts, Gator, and Holiday near the top; Pinstripe, Duke’s Mayo, and Sun in the next block; Military and Fenway slotted after that; and a group of lower-tier bowls that includes Gasparilla and Birmingham. How far Clemson falls depends on Duke’s result Saturday and how the league sorts through several 7-win and 6-win teams.

National outlets continue to disagree on the Tigers’ destination. ESPN’s two analysts split between the Sun Bowl against Arizona State and the Fenway Bowl versus Army. CBS leans toward an earlier trip to Tampa for the Gasparilla Bowl to take on USF. Athlon and PFSN keep Clemson in the New York tier with Pinstripe projections against Illinois or Nebraska. Other forecasts point in different directions: On3 has Clemson in El Paso for the Sun Bowl against Arizona State, Sporting News sends the Tigers to Orlando for the Pop-Tarts Bowl to face Arizona, Sports Illustrated places them in Charlotte’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl to meet Missouri, and College Football News predicts the Birmingham Bowl against James Madison.

Clemson has experience in Orlando and Charlotte under previous bowl names but has never appeared in the Sun or Birmingham bowls. With championship weekend still ahead and the Playoff picture unresolved, the Tigers remain in the mix for destinations ranging from the Pinstripe to the Pop-Tarts to the Sun, depending on how selections fall after the conference title games.

Contact us @Clemson_Wire on X (formerly known as Twitter), and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news and notes, plus opinions

This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Clemson football’s updated bowl projections after South Carolina

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos