When the No. 17 Clemson Tigers lost to in-state rival and 15th-ranked South Carolina, 17-14, on rivalry weekend, the Tigers were out of the ACC title game.
A few hours later, then-No. 6 Miami blew a 21-0 lead and went down to Syracuse, 42-38. The Miami loss elevated Clemson back into the ACC Championship game, where it will take on the eighth-ranked SMU Mustangs on Saturday night.
For Clemson (9-3, 7-1 ACC), the 2024 season has seen mixed results. In their season opener, the Tigers got blown out by then-No.1 Georgia (10-2), 34-3, despite only trailing 6-0 at the half. Clemson went on to win its next six games before suffering another setback against Louisville (8-4), 33-21.
After a nail-biting 24-20 win over Pittsburgh that needed a 50-yard TD run from QB Cade Klubnik with 1:16 left to escape with the victory, Clemson suffered its third loss to the Gamecocks.
Head coach Dabo Swinney had some interesting remarks about the Tigers’ three losses earlier this week: “We were the first 15-0 national championship team. Maybe we can be the first three-loss national championship team. Boy, that would upset some people… y’all would have to take a bunch of stuff back.”
Record aside, Klubnik has had a phenomenal season for Clemson. The junior has 3,041 yards passing along with a career-high 29 TDs, only five interceptions and the 12th-best QBR in the country (80). Klubnik has also been hard to stop on the ground, with 437 yards and seven TDs.
If Clemson is going to win the game, it will have to slow down SMU QB Kevin Jennings and the Mustangs’ run game. Jennings has 19 TD passes in addition to 344 yards and four TDs on the ground. RB Brashard Smith has 1,157 yards and 14 TDs.
A win for SMU (11-1, 8-0 ACC) would give it a clean sweep in its debut season in the ACC and a potential first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. Considering the eventual SEC champion (No. 2 Texas or No. 5 Georgia) and Big Ten champion (No. 1 Oregon or No. 3 Penn State) are the only two that would be ahead of the Mustangs as a conference champion, a first-round bye seems likely. It is simply a win-and-in for Clemson.
In nine prior ACC Championship game appearances, Clemson is 8-1, with its only loss coming to Georgia Tech in 2009. SMU brings a nine-game winning streak into the title game, all with Jennings under center.
There are massive CFP implications as Clemson and SMU square off for the ACC title and a trip to the College Football Playoff.
