CLEMSON -- Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney thinks there are too many SEC and Big Ten teams represented in the CFP rankings.

The latest rankings had four SEC and Big Ten teams apiece making the 12-team playoffs, including six occupying the seven at-large bids. The Tigers (8-2), who are ranked at No. 17, and other ACC and Big 12 teams have slim chances at landing an at-large bid and would need to win their conference for a guarantee bid to the playoff.

Before Clemson faced The Citadel (5-6) on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, The CW) at Memorial Stadium, Swinney made an appearance Saturday on CBS Sports to pitch why the Tigers should make the CFP.

"We've been in four national championships, we've won two of them," Swinney said. "We got the second-most playoff wins, we won eight league titles in the last 12 years. We've scheduled tough.

"All you can do is play the schedule that you have. We basically have an SEC-Big Ten Invitational. That's really what we got in college football."

According to ESPN's FPI, Clemson has an 18.8% chance of making the CFP, needing many of those SEC and Big Ten teams to lose in the final two weeks. One of the reasons it isn't viewed as favorable as the higher-ranked SEC and Big Ten teams is its strength of schedule.

The Tigers' strength of schedule ranks 55th in the country per ESPN's FPI, while many of the current SEC and Big Ten at-large bid teams rank in the top 40. Clemson's two losses came against Georgia in Week 1 at a neutral site and unranked Louisville at home in Week 10. Still, many of the SEC teams with at-large bids share the same record as the Tigers, leading to Swinney's frustration.

Clemson will have a chance to boost its CFP resume next Saturday when it faces in-state rival South Carolina.

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Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00