Here’s how Clemson and Texas share a unique connection ahead of the CFP first round.
Clemson and Texas won’t be so friendly with each other when the two teams face off in the first round of the 2024 College Football Playoff on Saturday.
However, one Tiger and one Longhorn have lots of history together, even going all the way back to elementary school.
These two childhood friends will now vie with each other for a chance to contend for a national championship, even if they’re just meeting in the first round of a grander tournament.
“I’ve been playing with him since I was third or fourth grade,” Klubnik told the Austin American-Statesman. “Maybe he was on the first football team I was ever on, so (it’s) definitely exciting. I texted him last weekend, ‘This is going to be cool.'”
However, with Klubnik a quarterback and Taaffe a safety, they’ll quite literally be on the opposite side of the field come game day. Their shared experiences will become competitive advantages for each other.
“I know the tendencies that he has,” Taaffe told the Austin American-Statesman. “You know I’ll take those to my advantage, but vice-versa, he knows what type of player I am. He knows I like to take calculated risks. He knows that I’m a student of the game. He’s going to probably show me one thing that they’ve done on film 100 times, and it’s going to be the opposite. I know that, but he probably knows the same thing.”
Here’s what Joel Klatt said about Clemson’s showdown with Texas, including his final score prediction for the game.
The Clemson Tigers are back in the College Football Playoff for the first time in four years, but they’ll be facing a tough opponent in the first round in the fourth-ranked Texas Longhorns.
Clemson (10-3 overall) reached the playoffs by defeating SMU, 34-31, in an instant classic in the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 7, giving Dabo Swinney his seventh CFP appearance as Tigers coach.
Texas (11-2) was already a lock for the playoffs after reaching the SEC title game. The Longhorns fell to the Georgia Bulldogs, 22-19, in overtime.
On Wednesday, Fox Sports college football analyst and broadcaster Joel Klatt gave his thoughts on Clemson vs. Texas heading into weekend. Klatt predicted that the Longhorns’ defense would be too much for Cade Klubnik and the Tigers to overcome:
“Klubnik and this Clemson offense is going to go up against one of the better secondaries in the country. This is why I just don’t believe Clemson is going to, all the sudden, turn on this offensive firepower that we haven’t really seen all year, in particular in games against quality defenses.”
While Clemson has shown such firepower in games against NC State and other ACC teams, Klatt pointed to the Tigers’ Week 1 blowout loss to Georgia when they were held to three points in a 34-3 defeat. He also noted that the Tigers had scored 14 points in the loss to rival South Carolina to close the regular season.
Klatt added:
“Texas has the No. 1 pass defense in America. They’ve done that with a Thorpe Award winner, Jahdae Barron. They’ve got an All-American safety in Michael Taaffe. By the way, he was Klubnik’s high school teammate. They’ve got a former teammate from Clemson in the other safety, Andrew Mukuba. He played with Klubnik at Clemson last year and transferred over to Texas so here he is facing his former team.
“This is a defense that probably plays pretty well in this game. They’re at home, they have the benefit of crowd noise, and this is not an offense that I think is going to threaten them. So, low-scoring from Clemson on the offensive side.”
Klatt gave his final score prediction:
“I like Texas to win this game. Texas, I think, is going to get close to 30 points. I think they score 27. Clemson does not score 20 points. I think they score 17… I think I’m going to take the points with Clemson just because of this offense and the lack of production from Texas down the back half of the year. But again, the Texas defense is going to win this game for them.
Back in early 2021, Texas high school football was finishing up the Covid season a little late. The state championship games were in January instead of December. Two of the biggest powers in the state Southlake Carroll and Austin Westlake would meet in the state title game. Westlake has won four state titles and Carroll has won an astounding eight championships.
The two powerhouse programs met at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, for an epic championship game that would be remembered primarily for its QB matchup, but also a heroic performance from a defensive standout. All three will play at DKR on Saturday.
Westlake and Southlake had one big common factor, they both had the fingerprints of former Texas QB Todd Dodge all over them. Dodge had made his name as a progressive head coach at Carroll from 2000–2006, where the the Dragons were three-peat champs in ’04, ’05 and ’06.
Dodge then took over the University of North Texas where he was much less successful. After being dismissed, Dodge went back to coaching high school and ended up at Westlake.
Who was the head coach of Carroll? Riley Dodge, Todd’s son. It was the first ever Texas state championship game where father and son head coaches squared off against each other.
Ewers was rated as the better high school prospect. An Ohio State commit at the time, the 6-foot-3, 195-pound QB topped most recruiting rankings. Klubnik was 6-2, 180-pounds and uncommitted. The No. 2 ranked QB in Texas would later end up at Clemson after some flirtations with the Longhorns.
To Longhorns fans, Ewers stats would look very familiar. He threw for 351 yards and three touchdowns on 23-of-39 passing and led Carroll to 34 points, the most Westlake had allowed in years. But he also had a fumble and two interceptions.
Klubnik was the better QB on the day, even if his stats weren’t as gaudy. Listed as a pro-style QB by recruiting services, it was Klubnik’s running ability that made the difference. On the day, he was 18 of 20 passes for 220 yards and a touchdown and had 17 carries for 97 yards, both career highs.
Southlake and Westlake went back and fourth in the first half until Klubnik threw a short TD pass to give Westlake a 28-21 lead. Hit as he threw the ball, Ewers tossed an interception on the next possession to none other than future teammate Michael Taaffe. Taaffe was committed to Rice at the time.
Westlake scored on the next possession, set up by a long Klubnik run. Down 35-21 in the third quarter, Ewers threw another interception to Taaffe, this time the future Longhorn DB made an impressive leaping one-handed catch for the pick. Taaffe would later receive a walk-on offer from Texas that he would accept instead of going to Rice.
Westlake won the game 52-34. Klubnik won the duel between the two superstar juniors and was named the game’s offensive most valuable player. “He is super dynamic with his legs,” Southlake Carroll coach Riley Dodge said. “When you have a quarterback as accurate as he is and can really run, when he’s in the open field, he may be the fastest guy on the field. That ain’t fun when the fastest guy on the field is touching the ball 100% of the time.”
The presence of No. 1 ranked prospect Ewers made no difference to Klubnik, who said, “I treated (the game) like any other game. I wasn’t paying attention to the quarterback on the other sidelines. I paid a lot of attention to their defense. It was never about me or him. It was about that defense.”
Taaffe was named defensive most valuable player for the second year in a row. The year before, Taaffe was voted the defensive MVP in Westlake’s win over Denton Guyer after an interception, a sack, two tackles and two pass breakups. Thomas Jones of the Austin American-Statesman said of the DB, “Maybe Jerry Jones should think about getting Michael Taaffe’s name in the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor, because the Westlake senior defensive back certainly enjoys playing at AT&T Stadium.”
After the game, Taaffe said, “It would be a cool story that I dreamed and prayed that this is the game I will make a great play in. But that’s not true. I try to make these plays each week. It’s about the team. I mean, without that pressure the guys up front were getting on the five-star quarterback (Ewers), we wouldn’t make those plays in the secondary.”
Klubnik should be in the Heisman conversation next season.
The Heisman Trophy will be awarded Saturday night, but attention is already turning to next year’s top contenders.
While Clemson has never produced a Heisman winner, the Tigers have come close with Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence earning runner-up finishes. Could Cade Klubnik be the next Clemson quarterback to make a push for the prestigious honor? 247Sports lists him as a frontrunner for 2025.
“Few quarterbacks improved their pro outlook this season as much as Cade Klubnik,” wrote 247Sports’ Carter Bahns. “He made incredible strides and, for much of the year, was a top-10 to top-five candidate on the Heisman odds board. The only knock against him is that his biggest struggles came in Clemson’s biggest games. Still, he ended the year with an impressive 33-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio.”
Klubnik’s progress has drawn national attention, and he’ll aim to build on it in 2025 as Clemson looks to remain a Playoff contender. Other early Heisman favorites include Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith, Alabama’s Ryan Williams, LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, and Texas backup Arch Manning.
Back when Klubnik was going through his recruiting cycle, the UT staff was recruiting him hard. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian was surprised when the Texas State Champion picked Clemson.
“Big fan of Cade,” Sarkisian said. “We recruited him hard. Obviously, local kid. Really possesses a great deal of competitive spirit, and you could see that when he was in high school at Westlake.”
But the son of two former Aggies had his eyes on Dabo Swinney. Klubnik’s family says he wanted to play for Dabo since his sophomore year in High School. Sark adds, “Thought we were the hometown team, and he had always had a dream of going to Clemson.”
But while Klubnik wanted Clemson, Clemson didn’t necessarily want him. Dabo Swinney had his eyes on another 5-star QB, Ty Simpson out of Tennessee. Dabo made it clear to Klubnik there would only be a scholarship for him if Simpson chose to go elsewhere.
In the meantime, Texas A&M and Texas were trying to land Klubnik themselves, both Klubnik described as “dream schools.” The Aggies decided to move on and signed Conner Weigman (who just announced he’s transferring to Houston).
In early February, Texas tried to ramp up the pressure. According to ESPN, Klubnik got an anonymous text from someone at Texas letting him know that Maalik Murphy was scheduled to visit campus and likely to commit. If he wanted to go to Texas, now was the time to commit.
Klubnik waited and the Longhorns did get that commitment from Murphy on Feb. 13 as Sark wasn’t taking any chances in 2021 as he tried to put together his first UT recruiting class. “He let that window close on both (schools) because he wanted to play at Clemson,” his father, Tod Klubnik, told ESPN.
Klubnik decided to wait on Clemson, but he didn’t have to wait long. On Feb. 26, 2021, Simpson picked Alabama. Clemson offered Klubnik a scholarship that same day. Less than a week later, Klubnik committed to the Tigers.
Sark is happy it all worked out for the junior QB and thinks its cool he’s coming home to Austin for the playoff game. “For him, I think, what a cool story of getting into the College Football Playoff and the first-round game is right here back in Austin, back home for him. A lot of really cool storylines of this ballgame, and that’s definitely one of them.”
How will the Georgia Bulldogs’ offense perform, prepare with quarterback Gunner Stockton
Georgia Bulldogs starting quarterback Carson Beck status remains uncertain for the Sugar Bowl. As a result, Georgia is preparing to start Gunner Stockton until further notice.
We saw a glimpse of what the Georgia offense is capable of with Stockton at quarterback in the SEC championship. The redshirt sophomore, who guided Georgia on its first touchdown drive of the game, and finished 12-for-16 for 71 yards and one interception. On Stockton’s first drive he provided a spark to the running game as running back Trevor Etienne scored UGA’s first touchdown of the game.
Georgia’s second half play calling had more designed runs and play action rollout passes for Stockton opposed to Beck. Georgia’s offense may look more like the one Stetson Bennett led in 2021, when the Bulldogs won the national championship. UGA will use Stockton’s mobility as much as it can.
Two more similar offenses that UGA can take things away from are Clemson with Cade Klubnik and Georgia Tech with Haynes King. The success that both offenses have could be added into Georgia’s offense now. What makes the offense so effective that they are balanced and use a capable runner at quarterback.
Georgia has extended time to prepare for the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1. UGA will play the winner of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish versus Indiana Hoosiers game. This break will be time for the offense to prepare Gunner Stockton to start.
“You know, we commit 75, 80% to ourselves and growth and development and trying to get our team ready and backups ready,” said head coach Kirby Smart on what Georgia will be doing until the Sugar Bowl.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]
The Georgia offense will be creating new wrinkles and everyone involved will work to mold a more confident version of Gunner Stockton. Georgia is focusing on being the best possible version it can be.
What you need to know from Clemson’s thrilling win over SMU sent the Tigers to the College Football Playoff.
With an ACC Championship record 56-yard game-winning Nolan Hauser field goal as time expired, the Clemson Tigers stunned the SMU Mustangs, 34-31, as time expired Saturday night at Bank of America Stadium to land a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Welcome back to the CFP, Clemson. It’s been a while.
The Tigers (10-2 overall) got out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and led 24-7 at halftime, then had to hang on for its postseason life when SMU (10-2) quarterback Kevin Jennings rallied the Mustangs back from a 17-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to tie the game at 31-31 with only 16 seconds remaining in regulation.
Overtime? Forget that, Clemson said.
Here’s how the Tigers pulled off a thrilling win over SMU and punched their ticket to the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2020.
Clemson special teams shined with game on the line
Dabo Swinney celebrates the game winning field goal after the 2024 ACC Football Championship at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
When SMU tied the game with 16 seconds left on a four-yard touchdown pass from Jennings to Roderick Daniels, it looked like things were destined for overtime. Only Clemson’s Adam Randall returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards to give Cade Klubnik and the Tigers’ offense a shot at getting into field goal range.
Klubnik hit Antonio Williams for 17 yards and a first down to the Mustangs’ 39-yard line with three seconds to play. Hauser showed nerves of steel after previously missing a 43-yard field goal in the first half when the Tigers’ protection on the left side of the offensive line broke down — a troubling and recurring theme for Dabo Swinney’s team all season long.
Hauser closed out the Tigers’ scoring in the first half by hitting a 44-yard field goal that made the score 24-7 at intermission.
Bryant Wesco had a career night on his biggest stage yet
Bryant Wesco Jr. scores during the first quarter. Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
Cade Klubnik to Bryant Wesco. It was a familiar and much welcomed sight for Clemson fans Saturday night. Wesco exploded for 142 yards and two touchdowns on eight catches — all career-bests.
After stud defensive end T.J. Parker forced a Jennings fumble on the Ponies’ first drive, Clemson took over at the SMU 33-yard line. Klubnik soon hit Wesco on a wide-open 35-yard touchdown pass. Wesco made the grab inside the 20 and waltzed into the end-zone for a quick 7-0 lead just 1:25 into the game.
Clemson’s defense forced a three-and-out and the offense took over in a great spot at the SMU 28-yard line. Wesco’s electric start continued when he took a misdirection and ran 11 yards for a first down to the 17. That set up a quick pass from Klubnik to tight end Jake Briningstool in the flats for a five-yard score and a 14-0 lead. Clemson had two touchdowns in the game’s first four minutes and 13 seconds.
Wesco would strike yet again when the 5-star freshman out of Midlothian, Texas, hauled in a perfect pass from Klubnik on a seam route for a 43-yard touchdown to put Clemson ahead 21-7 with 3:28 to play in the first quarter. The drive covered 73 yards in eight plays.
Clemson found tight end Jake Briningstool in critical moments
Jake Briningstool (9) celebrates with teammates after a touchdown during the third quarter. Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
Tight ends can be a great weapon and a quarterback’s best friend, and that’s just what Briningstool was for Klubnik in the red zone. Briningstool had four catches for 23 yards and two touchdowns.
After his five-yard catch in the first quarter that put Clemson up 14-0, Briningstool got the ball again in the waning seconds of the third quarter. On third-and-goal from the SMU 5-yard line, Klubnik found Briningstool on a short cut for a touchdown that put the Tigers up 31-14 entering the fourth quarter.
It wasn’t just the catches Briningstool made, either. In the second quarter, he recovered a fumble after Klubnik was hit from behind that resulted in a 10-yard Clemson gain.
Cade Klubnik was an absolute stud
Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
The big games that Wesco and Briningstool had wouldn’t have been possible without their general at quarterback.
Klubnik, who led Clemson to an ACC title two years earlier, was 24-of-41 for 262 yards and four touchdowns. Despite the aforementioned fumble, the Tigers’ quarterback ended the night without a turnover.
His 17-yard completion to Randall in the final seconds was a throw that a 5-star quarterback should make in games of this magnitude. And Klubnik’s 8-for-10 start for 120 yards and three touchdowns in the first quarter ultimately proved too much for SMU to overcome.
Clemson’s defense made some big plays
T.J. Parker tackles Kevin Jennings during the second quarter. Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
Most people thought this would be a high-scoring game and it was. Yes, the Tigers’ defense allowed SMU to crawl out of a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit, but Wes Goodwin’s unit also made some pretty explosive plays — one of which directly led to points. Parker’s strip sack of Jennings on the Mustangs’ third snap of the game led to Clemson’s first score.
With SMU facing third-and-10 in the second quarter, Khalil Barnes made a heads-up play when he reached down and picked off an ill-advised pass from Jennings for an interception at the SMU 47. While the ensuing drive yielded no points, it marked the third time the Tigers had started in SMU territory in the first half.
Quote of the night: ‘So you’re saying there’s a chance?’ Dabo Swinney quotes ‘Dumb and Dumber’
Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
Dabo Swinney doesn’t care who the Tigers will play next. The affable Clemson coach, declared obsolete by many in the national media all throughout the offseason for his stance on the transfer portal, was a bundle of joy in his postgame interview with ABC’s Molly McGrath.
Swinney even quoted Lloyd Christmas, the iconic ‘Dumb and Dumber’ character played by Jim Carrey in the 1994 comedy.
Swinney told McGrath:
“Hey, it’s a new season, and we’re 1-0 in the postseason. And now we’ve got a chance and I think Lloyd Christmas said it best: ‘So you’re saying there’s a chance?!”
There is always a chance in college football, especially in 2024.
Despite falling 17-14 to rival South Carolina last Saturday, Clemson (9-3 overall, 7-1 ACC) will look to win its 22nd all-time ACC championship Saturday night against a first-year conference foe in the SMU Mustangs (11-1, 8-0). It’s the first time in school history that the Tigers will play the Mustangs on the gridiron.
Clemson benefited from a 42-38 upset loss by the Miami Hurricanes at Syracuse last week to get to the ACC title game. SMU stamped its ticket to Charlotte back on Nov. 23 with a win at Virginia.
On Thursday, Fox Sports college football analyst and broadcaster Joel Klatt gave his thoughts on Clemson vs. SMU heading into weekend, along with a final score prediction. Klatt predicted that Cade Klubnik would lead the Tigers to a win at Bank of America Stadium.
“You’re going to get a very motivated (Clemson) team. They’re going to rely on that culture. I think that they can slow down SMU’s offense, although I do think that this is going to be a high-scoring affair.
“Here’s what I’ve got in this one: SMU is favored (but) I’m going with the outright upset here. Clemson wins this game… 35-31 in a high-scoring game. Clemson wins this thing and punches their ticket to the College Football Playoff.”
Klatt praised SMU’s offense for its prowess under third-year coach Rhett Lashlee and quarterback Kevin Jennings. But he noted that the Tigers’ defense held South Carolina and LaNorris Sellers, another dual-threat quarterback, to just 17 points last week.
With Clemson driving at the Gamecocks’ 18-yard line with 16 seconds left, Klubnik was intercepted by Demetrius Knight Jr. to seal South Carolina’s second straight win in Death Valley.
Klatt believes the Tigers’ inability to finish against the Gamecocks when they held a 14-7 lead in the fourth quarter left them angry and that it could carry over into Saturday’s game in a good way.
“That should spur them to a quality week of practice and I think some of the fixes necessary to go out and play much better this week,” Klatt said. “Clemson did a good job of running the football. They did a good job of getting the ball out of Klubnik’s hands last week because South Carolina’s rush was elite. They didn’t let that rush really effect them.”
Klatt outlined the ways Clemson could beat SMU.
“SMU also has a good pass rush, so I think the ability to run the football, maybe even with the quarterback — with Klubnik, who ran for two touchdowns last week — I think is gonna be imperative,” he said.” Slow down the rush, use the quick game in the passing game, and don’t expose Cade Klubnik to the pass rush of SMU.”
Clemson is in search of its ninth ACC title under Dabo Swinney and its first since 2022. The Tigers won six straight conference championships from 2015-2020. Clemson fell five spots to No. 17 in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll. SMU moved up two spots to No. 7.
The Tigers also fell five spots to No. 17 in the updated CFP rankings, released Tuesday. SMU was ranked No. 8. The winner of Saturday’s game will receive an automatic bid into the 12-team playoff and, if Clemson wins, a possible first-round bye and berth in the quarterfinal round at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.
Kickoff for Clemson vs. SMU is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ABC, with Sean McDonough and Greg McElroy calling the action from Charlotte.
Follow us @Clemson_Wire on X, and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson news and notes, plus opinions.
Clemson football has earned its way back to the ACC Championship Game, setting up a clash with No. 8 SMU (11-1, 8-0) in Charlotte on Saturday.
The 17th-ranked Tigers (9-3, 7-1 ACC) clinched their spot despite a loss to South Carolina in the regular-season finale, thanks to Syracuse’s win over Miami that handed the Hurricanes their second conference loss.
The unexpected turn of events gave Clemson a renewed chance to extend its season and fight for a championship. Quarterback Cade Klubnik described the opportunity with a familiar childhood analogy. “It’s like you’re outside playing with your siblings or your friends or whatever, and your mom tells you you’ve got to come in, but she gives you five more minutes,” Klubnik said. “We’re getting five more minutes to go play. We’re getting one more game to go play and another opportunity, and we’re so excited.”
The Tigers now control their path for the first time since their second loss to Louisville last month. A win against SMU would not only secure another ACC title but also position Clemson for a potential College Football Playoff spot, depending on the results of other games.
Klubnik emphasized how meaningful this chance is to the team. “There’s only eight Power Four teams in the country that are going to play a game this week, and we’re one of those eight. Everybody else is at home,” he said. “We’re excited to go play. We’re excited to go play for a championship and something that we’ve earned. In a big league like we have, to be in this championship is definitely a big deal, and we’re excited.”
With another shot at glory on the line, Clemson is determined to make the most of its extended season and leave no doubt on Saturday.
Clemson football’s starting quarterback, Cade Klubnik, is having a great day on the ground against rivals South Carolina, giving the Tigers their first lead of the second half using his feet.
Heading into the second half tied 7-7, the Tigers needed to be the first team to put points on the board, and that’s exactly what Klubnik and the offense did. It was a sweet 11-play 75-yard drive for Clemson’s offense as they proved to get it done through the air and on the ground.
Klubnik capped off the drive with an 18-yard touchdown run, showing his development mentally while showcasing his explosiveness as a duel threat player.
