Clemson lost to SMU 35-24 at home on Saturday, falling to 3-4 overall and 2-3 in ACC play.
This loss certainly removes any remaining possibility that Clemson could make a return trip to the College Football Playoff this year via winning the ACC Championship. With 3 conference losses before late October, the Tigers appear to be heading for a historically-disappointing season after opening the year ranked in the top 5 nationally.
Clemson was without quarterback Cade Klubnik for this game, but the Tigers lost to SMU largely because of their defense. The Mustangs averaged 6 yards per play and scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to help secure this win.
Klubnik’s backup, Christopher, Vizzina, played well overall. The Tigers punted 4 times in the first quarter, but ended up having a solid offensive day (relatively-speaking) with 4.9 yards per play. Clemson also went 8-of-19 on third down, with many over those conversions coming on Vizzina pass attempts.
Vizzina ended the day with 298 passing yards and 3 touchdowns on 38 attempts. As for Clemson’s running game, it was tough sledding — Adam Randall managed only 29 yards on 10 rushes.
If Clemson doesn’t rebound quickly, it could finish with its first under-.500 season in ACC play since 1998. Clemson still has Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Furman and South Carolina on its 2025 schedule.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
