(Photo: ESPN)
Campus Clash- ACC Championship
(12) Clemson Tigers at (9) SMU Mustangs
Clemson: For the final month of the regular season, they needed to get the help to get into the conference title. What would help their cause would’ve been them winning and a particular team losing. Let’s recap on Saturday afternoon. In no way, shape, or form was their rivalry game against South Carolina easy, especially with a Gamecocks team entering on a winning streak. As I watched that game on Saturday, the one thing that caught my eye was their defense and the lack of containment against LaNorris Sellers. When you face a mobile Quarterback, do all you can to keep him in the pocket and make him a passer, plus, I lost track of how many times they missed tackles on Sellers and this led me to exactly what I mentioned before the game which is Clemson struggles with the basics on defense. They deserved to lose that game over the weekend, but a negative turned positive. They needed help from a conference opponent and they got it! Syracuse upset the Miami Hurricanes! Clemson didn’t control their destiny as many other teams would’ve, but they got what they needed to keep their season alive. For the 11th time in university history, they will play in the ACC conference title game this Saturday night.
SMU: What a story they have been this year. If Curt Cignetti didn’t accomplish what he did in Bloomington, Indiana with the Hoosiers, Rhett Lashlee would be at the top of many people’s lists as the favorite to win Coach of the Year. Switching conferences can be a challenge for a few teams but that hasn’t been the case for this group. In their first full season in the ACC, they have adjusted well and remained at the top of the conference all season long. What more could you ask for? The SMU Mustangs completed a perfect season in conference play in the inaugural year in the ACC and they averaged 41 points per game which ranks third nationally. I understand Ashton Jeanty has been the best Running Back in the country. The Mustangs have a pretty good back in Brashard Smith who’s everything for their offense and then some. He ran for 1,157 yards on the season with 14 touchdowns and averaged six yards per carry. They have been such a well-oiled machine this year with six of the eight wins coming by double digits, including all four victories in November. They have that TCU feel to them from 2022. A team nobody expected to be much of anything. This Saturday night, they will play in their first ACC title game.
Clemson X-Factor: Barrett Carter– Clemson will forever have a strong defense. All those years when they were getting to the playoffs and winning titles, defense was the staple. Barrett is the guy who stands out to me on this defense. He’s a tackling machine with the speed to travel to the football. Barrett is the man in the middle for this defense and he brings that energy that his teammates feed off of. He’ll be the spy on Kevin Jennings in this game.
SMU X-Factor: Roderick Daniels Jr.– This is Kevin’s top target. I see a lot of Zay Flowers in his game with how he moves to get open, the ability to start and stop along with making people miss. Roderick isn’t just used as a receiver. He’s a guy they use in the backfield and on sweeps meaning they find any and every way to get the ball in his hands. He’s a versatile piece that returns punts, takes handoffs, and is used as a receiver.
Final Thoughts: Many of us expected the Florida State Seminoles to be in this position once again, but we all saw how everything panned out for them this year. On one side, we have an established team with experience who’s looking to win another ACC title and make the playoffs while on the other side, SMU is looking to become the first team ever to win two conference titles in consecutive years in different conferences. This is an active defensive front of the Mustangs that can get after people and I expect them to contain Cade Klubnik and keep him from using those legs. He will beat us from the pocket throwing over the numbers should be the mentality. Can this Clemson defense play with a bit more discipline? Finish tackles? Wrap up! Drive the ball carrier into the ground and get off the field on third down! That will determine their outcome. I expect this to be an entertaining game in Charlotte on Saturday. SMU will win their first ACC title this weekend.
Prediction: SMU 32, Clemson 24
