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On Saturday evening, Clemson football punched its ticket to the college football playoff with a thrilling win over the SMU Mustangs in the ACC Championship Game, played in Charlotte, North Carolina. Clemson controlled this one from the opening moments and led by 17 points entering the fourth quarter, but ultimately needed a game-winning field goal as time expired after a valiant comeback attempt from SMU.
Although they already knew they were going to be in the big dance, Clemson didn't know who they would be playing in the first round of the playoffs until Sunday afternoon when the final college football rankings were announced, and it was revealed that the Tigers would be traveling to Austin to take on the Texas Longhorns.
For his part, head coach Dabo Swinney found something to be excited about with the matchup.
“Shortly after it was announced that Clemson will play in Austin, Texas in the first round, Dabo Swinney exclaimed: ‘I’m gonna meet Matthew McConaughey!'” reported college football insider Molly McGrath of ESPN on X, formerly Twitter.
Indeed, McConaughey is one of the most high-profile Texas football fans, appearing at the SEC Championship game in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon.
Texas lost that matchup to the Georgia Bulldogs, the second time this year they've dropped a contest to Kirby Smart and company. The Longhorns are undefeated in all other matchups this season.
Can Clemson Football compete against Texas?
On paper, Clemson would appear to be overmatched in most areas of the field by Texas.
However, the game is played on the field and not on paper, and Clemson showed some impressive resilience in winning a roller coaster of a game vs SMU on Saturday.
Texas, meanwhile, has some noticeable flaws on their roster that the Bulldogs were able to exploit in both matchups, including, at times, questionable decision-making from quarterback Quinn Ewers and shaky play from the offensive line.
It will be a hostile environment for the Tigers, as this is the first year that college football playoff matchups will be played, at least in the first round, in-home stadiums around the country, and Austin has never been a very friendly place for visitors.
In any case, the Longhorns and Tigers are slated to kick things off at 3:00 PM ET on December 21st from Austin. The game will be carried nationally by TNT.
