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Dabo Swinney hopes to meet Matthew McConaughey at Texas-Clemson Playoff game
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Dabo Swinney and 12th-seeded Clemson will travel to face fifth-seeded Texas in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Dec. 21.
The Tigers, making their seventh Playoff appearance, will be eyeing their third national championship. And while they’ll look to get off on the right foot against the Longhorns, they might run into one of the program’s most prominent fans: Matthew McConaughey.
“I’m gonna meet Matthew McConaughey!” Swinney said after the Tigers’ first-round opponent was announced, according to ESPN’s Molly McGrath.
McConaughey, a 1993 graduate of Texas, wears several hats — no pun intended — when it comes to his alma mater: the Academy Award-winning actor was dubbed its “Minister of Culture” in 2018. He also is a Professor of Practice within the university’s school of communications.
If Swinney truly wants to meet McConaughey, he has an in with a former Clemson player he could leverage: safety Andrew Mukuba, who transferred to Texas before the 2024 season. Swinney, per the Post and Courier’s Jon Blau, laughed when told that Mukuba could perhaps introduce the two.
“[It will be] good to see ‘Kubs’,” he added. “Happy for him. Awesome year he’s had.”
That said, the pleasantries are sure to end in a matter of weeks when the two teams take the field: the winner faces No. 4 Arizona State in the Peach Bowl on New Year’s Day.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
