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Yes, the ACC’s Playoff was disappointing. But that doesn’t mean Clemson and SMU didn’t belong
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It didn’t take long to get a feel for how the day would go.
Facing a 4th-and-1 situation from the Penn State 19 on its opening offensive possession, SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings rolled to his right for what appeared to be an easy first down. But instead of tucking the ball in and heading for the sticks, he spotted tight end Matthew Hibner wide open near the end zone and threw.
The ball was a little behind Hibner, but catchable. Only Hibner didn’t catch it.
Things went downhill from there.
The missed opportunity was only the prelude to the complete meltdown to come. Three Jennings interceptions, 2 returned for touchdowns, led to a 38-10 opening-round College Football Playoff loss to the 6th-seeded Nittany Lions that was even more lopsided than the score suggested.
Then it was Clemson’s turn.
Unlike SMU, the Tigers landed their first punch. Cade Klubnik delivered it in the form of a 22-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Williams for a quick 7-0 lead at Texas. But just as quickly, Texas answered back.
And kept answering.
Clemson’s demise wasn’t nearly as dramatic or self-destructive. But it was just as thorough. Even though the Tigers battled back and kept things respectable in the second half, their 38-24 loss to the 5th-seeded Longhorns ended the ACC’s Playoff experience.
Thanks for coming, ACC. Don’t forget to pick up your Playoff swag on the way out the door.
The league’s early exit was hardly a surprise. Clemson was the 12th seed in a 12-team field. SMU was seeded 11th. They were both decided underdogs and were playing on the road in 2 of the most intimidating venues in college football.
Although the Mustangs could have given a better accounting of themselves, the results – as was 10th-seeded Indiana’s loss at Notre Dame on Friday night – were exactly as you’d expect considering the matchups and circumstances.
But that won’t stop Lane Kiffin, along with a horde of other SEC coaches, fans and media types from taking to social media to challenge the legitimacy of the ACC and its 2 Playoff entries.
Would an Alabama team that mustered only a lone field goal against Oklahoma, which ranked 10th in the SEC in scoring defense, have fared any better in the sub-freezing conditions at Happy Valley?
Maybe. Maybe not.
We’ll never know.
Same for red-hot South Carolina, which beat Clemson head-to-head. Or Kiffin’s Ole Miss Rebels.
SEC teams are admittedly undefeated in hypothetical matchups. But there’s every reason to believe that the results would be similar and the same teams would be advancing to the Playoff quarterfinals no matter who they played.
That doesn’t change the fact that the ACC team with the best chance of advancing in this Playoff – the one with a Heisman Trophy finalist at quarterback – is playing in the Pop-Tarts Bowl because it couldn’t hold onto a 21-point lead at Syracuse in the regular-season finale. Or that as a whole, the ACC is still a not-ready-for-prime-time player in the big picture of college football.
The moment was clearly too big for SMU, a team that accomplished a lot this season, but is still just 1 year removed from the Group of 5.
As for Clemson, a program that has been here before but is just a shadow of what it was, the moment provided a glimpse of why coach Dabo Swinney has finally given in, acknowledged that the rules of engagement have changed and begun utilizing the transfer portal like everyone else besides the service academies.
The Tigers have some nice homegrown pieces. If Klubnik decides to come back for his senior season, he and his talented freshman receivers will give Swinney a foundation upon which to build. Even if Klubnik doesn’t, there’s plenty of veteran quarterback talent available in the portal.
Now that Swinney has discovered its existence.
But Clemson’s performance against SEC opponents this season is an unmistakable signal that in order to compete, it has to get bigger, stronger and deeper in the trenches. Especially on the defensive side of the ball.
The Tigers went 0-3 in those games, falling to Georgia and South Carolina in addition to Texas. Although they had trouble stopping the run against everyone this season, finishing 14th in the ACC with an average of 150 yards per game allowed, they were especially manhandled at the point of attack by the Bulldogs, Gamecocks and Longhorns.
Texas, which could barely walk let alone run in its overtime loss to UGA in the SEC Championship Game 2 weeks ago, rolled up an impressive 292 yards on the ground Saturday.
It’s a performance that will almost certainly be interpreted as a sign of the sign of the physical dominance SEC teams have over the best the ACC can offer.
And they’ll be right.
But that still doesn’t justify leaving Clemson or SMU or any of the 4 opening-round losers for that matter, out of the Playoff field.
No matter what kind of twisted logic or contrived statistic you use to prove your point.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
