Greg McElroy Names Contenders That Are Locks For College Football Playoff at 10-2

College football analyst Greg McElroy stood up for the ACC on Monday, saying that two of the conference's teams could guarantee a trip to the College Football Playoff with 10-win seasons.

On Monday's episode of his show, Always College Football , McElroy evaluated the ACC and comprised his list of teams that would certainly be in the playoff at 10-2.

NC State and Louisville weren't viewed favorably, but McElroy did name Clemson and Florida State as the two squads with strong enough schedules to survive two regular-season losses and still make the CFP.

He had to say of the Tigers:

"Yes they are in with 10-2. Look at their schedule. I think it's extremely difficult. You have a non-conference game against the Georgia Bulldogs in Week 1. You go on the road to Florida State. Those are their two toughest games. But in the event in which they lost their two toughest games, they're still in a really good position to get to the college football playoff."

He continued, noting the wins Clemson would still have to boast if they finished 10-2 with losses to FSU and Georgia.

"Why? Because they're going to have wins against Louisville, they're going to have a win against NC State, they're going to win on the road at Virginia Tech, and they're going to have a win against South Carolina. So I think at 10-2 with that schedule, Clemson's in."

McElroy made a very similar case for why the Seminoles' resume would be plenty strong enough as well with a 10-2 mark.

"Florida State comes into the season with the 31st toughest schedule according to ESPN Analytics. I think there are three games on Florida State's schedule that rank above all else as far as difficulty. One is at Miami, the other is at Notre Dame. Then you have Clemson that comes to you."

But as long as Florida State cleans up the rest of their slate and wins one of those three, they'll be set up well.

"You might still have some other ranked wins at your disposal. You're going to have a win against Florida in that scenario, you're going to have a win against Georgia Tech, and you're going to have a win on the road at SMU. A lot of people feel pretty good about what the ponies are going to do this year."

Follow that formula, and Greg McElroy likes Florida State to make the College Football Playoff at 10-2 after missing it in 2023 at 13-0.

"So I look at Florida State, I think they're in at 10-2 in an at-large situation. To sum things up in the ACC, I think you have two locks at 10-2. That's Clemson and Florida State. They go 10-2, they are in."

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