gotchanewsdaily.com 
AUSTIN, Texas — To the edge Texas ran.
Until Clemson was pushed over the proverbial cliff.
There was nothing complicated about the No. 5 seed Longhorns’ scheme in a 38-24 win over the Tigers on Dec. 21 in the first round of the College Football Playoff. They ran their speciality, the outside zone play, over and over and over.
Clemson, which struggled to hold an edge for sizable portions of the season, just couldn’t stop it. In a weekend of flameouts for lower-seeded CFP teams, the No. 12 Tigers (10-4) were more the rule than the exception.
They did fight, climbing back from a 31-10 deficit to make it a one-score game, 31-24, early in the fourth quarter. But if the Tigers came to Austin believing they were dangerous because they were winning despite incomplete performances, they let the 2024 season come and go without executing for all four quarters.
The offense was stagnant for much of the first half, aside from a nearly perfect opening touchdown drive. The defense had a couple of stingy moments, but they were fleeting, because Texas would regain its footing and just roll.
Texas (12-2) finished with 292 rushing yards, which trumped a 336-yard game from Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik.
What went wrong
Klubnik opened with a nearly perfect 12-play, 75-yard drive to hush the Texas Memorial Stadium crowd.
But the Longhorns answered with their own 12-play, 75-yard drive — and the Tigers just didn’t have the ability to match.
Clemson had 13 plays on its next four drives combined, totaling just 50 yards. Meanwhile, Texas scored touchdowns on its first three possessions, and — if not for a fourth-down stop by the Tigers’ defense after a Klubnik pick — could have made it four straight touchdown drives.
Like the opener at Georgia, an SEC opponent had a monster quarter and put Clemson on its heels. It was just the second quarter this time, not the third.
Texas outscored Clemson 21-3 in the second period as the Longhorns gained 121 of their 148 first-half rushing yards. They usually ran to the edge opposite star sophomore defensive end T.J. Parker, but they also ran right at him on Quintrevion Wisner’s second touchdown run.
Because the Longhorns leaned so effectively on the run, a turnover-prone quarterback, Quinn Ewers, didn’t have to do too much. He threw an interception to R.J. Mickens that was returned for a touchdown, which could have made it 21-14, but the runback was negated by a blind-side block call on Tré Williams.
After the Tigers cut the Texas lead to 21-10, the Longhorns went right back down the field extend the lead to 28-10 going in locker room. Texas got the ball back to start the second half and opened with a 14-play, 71-yard drive to tack on a field goal and make it a three-touchdown lead.
What went right
If anything, Clemson didn’t completely fold.
Klubnik’s passing yards were the most a quarterback has thrown on Texas this season. Kentucky had the previous high with 211 yards.
The junior also threw three touchdowns passes on a Texas defense that had allowed just four scores through the air in 13 games. That included a 25-yard toss to running back Jarvis Green to cut the lead to 31-17 in the third quarter.
The Tigers played a variety of rushers with Phil Mafah limited to just a pair of carries for nine yards. Green, Keith Adams Jr., and David Eziomume all saw the field, and receiver Adam Randall even appeared in the backfield.
In fact, Randall had Clemson’s most explosive rush of the day, ripping off a 41-yarder in the first half.
Desperate measures had to be taken because of Mafah’s shoulder issues, but the Tigers still managed to give Texas’ defense more trouble than it experienced any game this season.
Turning point
Clemson cut the lead to seven points, 31-24, and the Tigers even got a great special-teams tackle from safety Ricardo Jones to force the Longhorns to start on their own 17 yard line.
But it didn’t matter.
Texas running back Jaydon Blue exploded for a 77-yard touchdown run to push the Longhorns’ lead back to two touchdowns.
Clemson would have one more chance to cut the lead back to one possession, but Texas held the Tigers out on a fourth-and-goal run from two yards out.
Next up
The offseason comes a week early for Clemson, which has its season end on Dec. 21 rather than a Christmas or New Year’s bowl.
Swinney and his players have some decisions to make. The transfer portal remains open until Dec. 29, and Swinney will have to take a hard look at his coaching staff to assure he has the right people in place.
The performance of the Tigers’ defense, in particular, has been wanting at times this season, especially in the first round of the playoff.
