(Photo: ESPN)
College Football Playoff- First Round
(12) Clemson Tigers at (5) Texas Longhorns
Clemson: After the tough loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks, they got help courtesy of the Syracuse Orange and upset the Miami Hurricanes in the final week of the regular season. Each time this team has been counted out, they’ve taken it personally and delivered by letting their play do all the talking on the field. They may not be the dominant group they were all those years with Trevor Lawrence and that stingy defensive line, but they still win games this time around and Dabo Swinney is still an elite coach in my opinion. They weren’t given much of a chance against the jumpstart SMU Mustangs in the ACC Championship game, but at the end of the day, experience matters, and that showed in Charlotte on Saturday night. The Clemson Tigers did let their foot off the gas and allowed the Mustangs to climb back into the game, but in. the end, Clemson was able to escape with a three-point victory. I’ve said throughout the year that I’ve been so impressed with Cade Klubnik this year and he had a big game on Saturday in the title victory. We’ve seen crazier things happen when a team wins their conference title and they don’t make it to the College Football Playoff, although they won their title game and that’s one of the biggest criteria for the committee. They are back in the postseason for the first time since the 2020 season and will open things up in Austin next week.
Texas: As many know, I have been very high on this group this season. I’ve even said they were one of the two best teams I’ve seen in the country next to the Oregon Ducks. They entered last Saturday as the home team in their first SEC Championship and they were looking to win another conference title in back-to-back years. The Georgia Bulldogs will forever be a tough out, no matter their record, ranking, or seeding. So much was on the line in this game as the winner would be locked into the two seed in the bracket and the loser would more than likely drop to five. If Penn State had done the imaginable and beat Oregon, the winner of Georgia and Texas could’ve been the one seed. I was so disappointed in the Longhorns’ offensive effort in the conference title game over the weekend because they would move the football down the field, get into a rhythm, but fold in the redone and when you play a team such as Georgia, you won’t beat them kicking field goals and that’s exactly the situation they put themselves into. The shining point of this game was the defense and truthfully, you couldn’t ask for them to play any better than what they did as they got off the field on third down, pressured Carson Beck, and got the ball back for the offense only for them to struggle when they had it. In other words, their offense wasted a phenomenal defensive effort. With the loss, they dropped to the fifth seed and will welcome the Clemson Tigers to Austin next week.
Clemson X-Factor: Bryant Wesco Jr.– This is another weapon in the Clemson passing attack. Bryant is a 6’2, 180-pound Wide Receiver who can fly down the field with incredible speed. For a few years after Trevor left for the NFL, this Tigers offense lacked the explosive play down the field and this is where Bryant came in and added that dynamic once again. Bryant is the one receiver who can consistently take the top of the zone coverage. He creates separation at the top of his routes, is excellent when it comes to tracking the ball down the field and he’s a red-zone threat. Texas could have their hands full with him.
Texas X-Factor: Andrew Mukuba– He’s added so much depth to this Texas defense, more so in their secondary. The former Clemson Tiger transferred to play for the Longhorns and it’s paid off. Andrew is a nickel corner/Safety who does so much such as read screen passes and tackle, defends back in coverage, and when given the green light, he will rush the passer. Andrew is a rangy Safety with the instinct to cover and hit when necessary. I can’t wait to see what he can do against his former team in this game next week.
Final Thoughts: We have a battle between the ACC and SEC here! Both Cade Klubnik and Quinn Ewers have a history of facing one another in high school as these two met in the division two state championship in 2021. This is a tough matchup for the Tigers as this Texas team can light you up with their offense and shut you down with their defense. Texas must come out and attack the glaring weakness of this Clemson defense which is stopping the run so this means feeding the ball to Quintrevion Wisner and Jaydon Blue as early and often as possible. Quinn Ewers won’t need to be much of a factor in this game I feel. Next, the Longhorns won’t’ allow Clemson to find their rhythm offensively. I can see Clemson abandoning the running game to put the game in Klubnik’s hands and this will be a tough defense he will see in Austin. I see this being close throughout, but Texas in the end has way too much and that’s why I’m picking the Longhorns to advance to the second round.
Prediction: Texas 31, Clemson 23
