Texas clinches No. 5 seed, will host Clemson in first round of College Football Playoff
DALLAS — The Longhorns missed out on a cushy top four seed and a first-round bye. Their consolation prize is a postseason game on their home Austin turf.
Texas is seeded No. 5 and will host a first-round playoff game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff field, which was unveiled Sunday on ESPN. The Longhorns will host No. 12 Clemson — which beat SMU in Saturday’s ACC Championship game to clinch a playoff berth — in the first round at 4 p.m. ET on Dec. 21.
Texas and Clemson have never played each other, though the Tigers (10-3) went 0-2 against SEC competition this season. They lost to No. 2 Georgia 34-3 on Aug. 31 and lost to South Carolina 17-14 last week.
“I think, quite honestly, our guys need a little bit of a break,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Sunday morning on ESPN after the selection show. “I think our players need a little bit of a break. Mentally and physically, this has been a grind, especially the last month … our guys need a little bit of a break for a couple of days, and that’ll give us as a staff a chance to start game planning and getting to work on it.”
Texas would play No. 12 Arizona State (which is seeded No. 4 as the Big 12 champion) in the quarterfinals in the Peach Bowl if it beats Clemson. The winner of that game will play in the semifinals in the Cotton Bowl at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium on Jan. 10.
The Longhorns (11-2) made the playoff for the first time last season under the previous four-team format and lost to Washington in the semifinals. They’re one of three SEC teams — alongside Georgia and No. 9 Tennessee — in this year’s playoff field, and are in search of their first national championship since 2005.
“We’re going to compete for a national championship,” Sarkisian said Saturday night. “That’s where my mind is at.”
SMU clinches No. 11 seed in College Football Playoff, will face Penn State
DALLAS — The Mustangs will have a chance to compete for a national championship this year.
About 12 hours after losing in the ACC Championship 34-31 to Clemson, SMU learned on the College Football Playoff selection show Sunday that it had punched its ticket to this year’s expanded 12-team playoff as a No. 11 seed. Earning an at-large bid, the Mustangs will play Penn State on the road at noon ET on Dec. 21.
SMU’s 2024 playoff berth is its first since the College Football Playoff was invented in 2014. The playoff expanded from four teams to 12 ahead of this season, offering opportunities for more teams like SMU to secure a spot. Texas also earned a spot in the playoff, clinching the No. 5 seed and a home matchup against Clemson.
The Mustangs made a statement in their first season in the ACC this season, finishing 8-0 in conference play. While they could’ve secured an automatic bid as one of the four highest-ranked conference champions — and a first-round bye — with a win over Clemson in Saturday’s title game, the Mustangs were also still in the running for an at-large bid.
There was a question about whether SMU could be jumped by a three-loss Alabama team not competing in the SEC Championship this weekend if it were to be blown out by Clemson.
SMU fell behind 24-7 at halftime after a disastrous start, but orchestrated a 17-point comeback to tie the game at 31-31. With 16 seconds remaining, two big plays put Clemson in field goal range, allowing the Tigers to knock down a 56-yarder to win.
SMU’s ability to keep it close likely saved its playoff chances.
Keeping SMU in the playoff field also set an important precedent. Had the Mustangs been left out after being ranked No. 8 last week and passed by a team that did not play this week, it would’ve impacted how team see their conference championship games and likely led to teams opting out in the future.
