The College Football Playoff committee unveiled the new 12-team bracket on Sunday, setting the stage for a first-round clash between the No. 5 Texas Longhorns and No. 12 Clemson Tigers on Dec. 21.
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney met with reporters shortly after the announcement, offering insights into the matchup and highlighting the unique connections between the two programs.
Here are key takeaways from Swinney’s remarks as the Tigers prepare for their playoff showdown with Texas:
Swinney’s first reaction wasn’t even about the team itself. His excitement was in a five-word message about the Minister of Culture.
“I’m gonna meet Matthew McConaughey!” Swinney said.
What stands out about Texas:
“I haven’t even had my chance to put my eyes on them other than just what I’ve seen like everyone else, on TV, but they were a final four team last year, and now they’re back in the playoffs, so I think Sark’s done an amazing job. They’ve got a great roster, a very, very talented roster. They’ve got elite quarterback play, explosive players outside. This is a complete football team in every sense of the word. They’re good enough to win the whole thing, and we’ll have our hands full, for sure, but excited to go compete.”
Cade Klubnik’s Austin Homecoming:
“When Texas came up, it was just kind of like, ‘Oh, this is amazing,’ because there’s a lot of storylines, (Klubnik) is obviously from Austin, went to Westlake there, and one of the best quarterbacks to come out of the state of Texas. But also him and Quinn went head-to-head a lot in high school. It’s all about the game but that’s just kind of a cool storyline for our quarterback. You just never know how things are going to work out in this crazy game of college football. For him to be going to his first playoff, because we didn’t make it in ’22, we won the league, but didn’t make it, and then last year we didn’t make it, so (having) his first playoff game in Austin, Texas, where he grew up, you can’t make that up.”