The Clemson Tigers had a huge break as they punched their ticket to the ACC Title Game thanks to a loss to the Miami Hurricanes.

Rivalry week didn’t start well for the Tigers, but it certainly ended well. Clemson will play the SMU Mustangs in the ACC Championship Game as the Hurricanes lost to the Syracuse Orange as heavy favorites.

Heading into Saturday’s game, the Tigers suffered a tough loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Palmetto Bowl. A win against South Carolina likely would have sent Clemson to the College Football Playoff, as it would have been a ranked win against a top-15 team. Quality wins like this don’t go unnoticed at this point in the season, and it should have been the resume builder needed for an overall win.

However, the Tigers missed a golden opportunity to secure their spot as they gave up 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. Stopping the run was once again a major problem for Clemson as LaNorris Sanders overran them, including the game-winning touchdown run. Quarterback Cade Klubnik played a good game for the Tigers, both throwing and running the ball, but it wasn’t enough.

Despite the loss, the Tigers will now focus on beating the Mustangs in the ACC Championship next weekend.

There are many benefits to winning the conference as Clemson could potentially get a bye in the CFP and they get the automatic bid. If the Tigers are the conference’s representative in the CFP, they will likely be the ACC’s only team, as the Hurricanes and Mustangs will have a hard time getting an at-large bid.

While it’s great to keep hopes alive of winning the ACC and competing in the expanded CFP, this is a Clemson team that has some issues. However, they will determine their own fate of reaching the playoffs.