The Clemson Tigers continued their dominance in Week 7 on their trip to face the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

Despite not scoring in the first quarter of the game, the Tigers still managed to score 49 points in a 35-point victory. It was a great performance in every facet of the game, as they are going to continue climbing the AP polls this week.

With the No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels going down to the LSU Tigers in overtime, Clemson will have a single-digit ranking. 

With their fellow SEC members, the Tennessee Volunteers and Alabama Crimson Tide, having tougher-than-anticipated games against Florida and South Carolina, respectively, the Tigers could find themselves in the top seven when the polls are released.

Now at the midseason point of the 2024 campaign, the College Football Playoff picture is coming into shape a little more. Right now, Dabo Swinney and his group look to have an inside track to one of the at-large bids should they not be able to win the ACC.

But, there is something they have been able to accomplish that their peers haven’t; handling business against unranked teams.

That, in the opinion of Heather Dinich of ESPN, could be what vaults Clemson higher than their current projection of a No. 8 seed.

“Unlike Alabama (South Carolina), Georgia (Mississippi State) and Miami (Virginia Tech and Cal), Clemson has manhandled every unranked team it has faced. In the past, the committee has been wowed by a team’s sheer dominance as a way of compensating for a weaker schedule, and those teams typically have NFL-caliber talent to prove it,” the ESPN senior write wrote.

Their season-opening loss to Georgia, a 34-3 blowout, feels like a distant memory. This is a totally different squad than the one we saw on opening weekend as they have won every game since that point by at least 16 points.

Nothing is being left up for debate with their current level of play. Whoever they line up against is getting blown out, as they are making statements week after week.

Blowouts of that caliber are something that the committee will certainly be keeping a close eye on. It could be the difference in a seed or two, which would mean hosting a College Football Playoff game at Death Valley or heading on the road if they cannot secure a first-round bye.