How do things stand in the 12-team College Football Playoff picture after Week 9 of the season, according to Heather Dinich?

Dinich, ESPN’s foremost College Football Playoff insider, gave her weekly projection of the CFP selection committee’s top 12 if that ranking were released right now.

Dinich’s updated projection (subscription required) has Clemson (6-1, 5-0 ACC) at No. 11.

The Tigers are coming off an open date this weekend ahead of this Saturday’s matchup vs. Louisville.

Dinich weighed in on why Clemson could be ranked No. 11 by the selection committee – and what you need to know about the Tigers as it relates to the 12-team playoff:

The Tigers had a bye week, but have won six straight since their season-opening loss to Georgia. As good as Clemson has looked during its winning streak, though, the committee will recognize that Virginia is its best win — and North Carolina just handed the Cavaliers their fourth loss of the season (41-14) in more convincing fashion than Clemson was able to (48-31). None of Clemson’s wins is against a ranked team, and all of its opponents have at least four losses. Most, if not all, of the contenders ranked ahead of Clemson are either undefeated or have a better résumé.

Two of Clemson’s next three games are on the road, and all three opponents — Louisville, Virginia Tech and Pitt — are above .500. It also will face one of the best defenses it has seen all season against rival South Carolina on Nov. 30. If Clemson loses at Pitt to the only ranked opponent it will face during the regular season — or at Virginia Tech — and it doesn’t win the ACC, it’s going to have a difficult time earning an at-large bid. The committee would likely reward other two-loss contenders with better wins.

The 12-team playoff field will feature the five highest-ranked conference champions, plus the next seven highest-ranked teams, as determined by the CFP selection committee. The four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded one through four and receive first-round byes, with the fifth highest-ranked conference champion being seeded where it was ranked, or at No. 12 if its final ranking lands outside of the top 12.

Oregon is No. 1 in Dinich’s projected CFP top 12 right now, with Georgia, Penn State, Ohio State and Texas comprising the rest of the top five, in that order. Texas A&M is No. 6, with Miami, BYU, Indiana and Boise State rounding out the top 10. After Clemson at No. 11, Tennessee is No. 12.

Clemson would travel to Ohio State for a matchup in the first round, based on the rankings currently projected by Dinich:

Based on the rankings above, the top four seeds would be: No. 1 Oregon (Big Ten champ), No. 2 Georgia (SEC champ), No. 3 Miami (ACC champ) and No. 4 BYU (Big 12 champ). Each would receive a bye. Eight remaining seeds would play on-campus first-round games. Those matchups would be: No. 12 Tennessee at No. 5 Penn State; No. 11 Clemson at No. 6 Ohio State; No. 10 Boise State (Mountain West champ) at No. 7 Texas; and No. 9 Indiana at No. 8 Texas A&M.

Clemson’s game vs. Louisville (5-3, 3-2 ACC) on Saturday at Death Valley is set for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on ESPN.

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