Clemson CFP Bound with Win Over SMU

Chaos reigns supreme.

It all came down to the golden foot of place kicker Nolan Hauser. He booted a 56-yard field goal as the clock ran down to zero, vaulting the No. 17 Clemson Tigers to a 34-31 win over No. 8 SMU Mustangs in the ACC championship game.

With the victory, Clemson turned the College Football Playoff standings upside down by earning an automatic berth into the playoff as a conference champion.

SMU knotted the game at 31 with just 16 seconds left in the fourth quarter, when quarterback Kevin Jennings found Roderick Daniels Jr. on an out route for a 4-yard touchdown. The play was reviewed, but Daniels clearly dragged his right foot in bounds for the reception.

On the ensuing kickoff, a game-changing 41-yard return by Austin Randall allowed Clemson a chance for one play to get in field goal range. Signal caller Cade Klubnik’s 17-yard pass to Antonio Williams made it a reality.

“It’s like when you are playing outside with some of your friends and your mom tells you that you have to come inside, but then she decides, ‘Well, I will give you five more minutes,’” Klubnik said. “We got five more minutes to play football — and that’s how we viewed tonight.”

Klubnik threw for four touchdowns, three of them coming in the first quarter, which is the most in any quarter of an ACC championship game and 262 yards, completing 24-of-41 passes. Bryant Wesco Jr. snagged eight receptions for 143 yards and two scores. Jake Briningstool also caught two touchdowns for the Tigers.

“What a way to win,” coach Dabo Swinney said. “… To head to the playoffs for the seventh time, man, the heart of our guys. We have been so close but we found a way.”

The Tigers’ nail-biting win created a bit of confusion going into Sunday’s selection at noon ET on ESPN.

Did Clemson earn a first-round bye with their victory? At 10-3 on the year and ranked below four other conference champions, that seems unlikely. Speculation had SMU earning a bye if they were victorious in the ACC title game, but the Mustangs would have had a 12-1 record and been ranked above the Big 12 champion Arizona State Sun Devils at No. 15 and Mountain West champ Boise State at No. 10. The committee likely would not boost Clemson up that far just because it is the ACC champion.

And what about SMU? Did the dramatic loss knock them out of playoff contention all together despite a spectacular 11-2 record? Clemson coming out on top takes a coveted spot that many experts thought would go to No. 12 Alabama Crimson Tide.

Clemson coach Swinney made his pitch for SMU in his postgame interview with ESPN’s Molly McGrath.

“That’s a playoff football team,” Swinney said as he pointed across the field. “SMU, they better be in the dang playoffs.”

The Tigers came out of the gate strong, racing out to a 14-0 lead aided by SMU mistakes. A fumble by Kevin Jennings on a sack gave Clemson the ball on the Mustangs’ 33-yard line. Two plays later, Klubnik hooked up with Wesco for a 35-yard touchdown and the game’s first score.

SMU went three-and-out on its next possession but was flagged for a 15-yard personal foul penalty when Davaughn Celestine’s helmet came off on a punt and he continued to play.

Between the penalty and Antonio Williams’ 21-yard return, the punt was essentially neutralized and Clemson took over at the SMU 28. Four plays later, Klubnik connected with Briningstool for a five-yard touchdown pass.

SMU got on the board with its third possession, punctuating a methodical 75-yard drive with a 24-yard scoring run by Jennings. However, Clemson kept their foot on the gas and did not waste any time responding with a 43-yard touchdown pass from Klubnik to Wesco. Clemson took a commanding 17-point lead, 24-7, into the locker room at the half.

The Mustangs still had fight in them and scored on their first series of the second half with Jennings completing four passes for 65 yards, including a 10-yard throw to Brashard Smith. That trimmed Clemson’s lead to 10, 24-14. However, the Tigers put together two long drives that ate up nearly 10 minutes, the second of which resulted in a touchdown on a five-yard reception by Briningstool.

SMU came right back and again cut the margin to 10, finishing off a seven-play drive with a 20-yard touchdown catch by Matthew Hibner. After the defense showed up and forced Clemson into three-and-outs on back-to-back possessions, the Mustangs closed to within one score on a 46-yard field goal from Collin Rogers.

Jennings, who has been under center since Week 3, passed for 304 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, completing 31-of-50 passes. Daniels had eight receptions for 97 yards and a score, joined by Hibner’s five catches for 69 yards and a touchdown. Brashard Smith led SMU in rushing with 113 yards on 24 carries.

Earlier in the week, SMU coach Rhett Lashlee made a strong case that his team should be in the playoff, win or lose, and not be penalized for having to play in a conference championship game.

“The reason I know we should be in is because the committee has ranked us in,” he said. “They’ve said we’re good enough.

“The case is closed on that, and they said you’re the eighth-best team in the country,” he added. “They said you’re better than two other teams that are currently in the field for an at-large. You’re better than them. Those teams didn’t earn the right to play in a conference championship game, and we did. So, I don’t get how you could punish anybody for that.”

He doubled down that claim after the loss.

“We just played a playoff game out there and we played pretty dang good,” Lashlee said. “Our team deserves a chance to be in.”

Clemson will have to wait and see if they get a first-round bye, while SMU waits to learn their fate in the playoffs.