Clemson has been prominent in the 12-year history of the College Football Playoff.
The Tigers have participated in the CFP seven times, tied with Ohio State for second to Alabama’s nine appearances. Clemson holds the record for consecutive years making the CFP (six straight seasons from 2015-20), and during that span, the Tigers reached the national championship game four times and won two titles (2016, 2018) while finishing in the Top 5 of the CFP rankings every year. Clemson has six CFP victories overall, third to Alabama’s 10 and Ohio State’s seven.
However, the Tigers have only made one CFP appearance since 2020 – a short-lived one in 2024 that ended with a first-round loss at Texas in the inaugural year of the 12-team format.