CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Two Atlantic Coast Conference members, SMU and Clemson, earned berths in the 2024 College Football Playoff and will play in the first round on Saturday, December 21. SMU earned an at-large bid after a phenomenal 11-2 season, including an 8-0 mark in regular-season ACC play. The Mustangs fell in the ACC Football Championship Game to Clemson, who earned an automatic bid to the CFP as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions.
Saturday, Dec. 21, Noon ET
#11 SMU at #6 Penn State
College Football Playoff First Round; State College, Pa.
Series: Penn State leads series, 1-0-1
Last Meeting: Penn State, 26-21 (1978)
TNT: Mark Jones (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst), Quint Kessenich (sideline) and Tom Luginbill (sideline)
School Radio Feed: SMU
SiriusXM Radio: SiriusXM 82 / SiriusXM 80
SiriusXM App: SiriusXM 82 /
SiriusXM 80
The No. 11-seeded SMU Mustangs will be making their first-ever trip to the CFP when they head to State College, Pennsylvania, to meet sixth-seeded Penn State. The Mustangs went a perfect 8-0 through ACC play in their first season in the league. In conference games, SMU outscored opponents 301-146 en route to its second straight undefeated conference season. SMU’s 301 points scored were the second-most in conference games while the 146 points allowed were the fewest in ACC play.
The Mustangs head into Beaver Stadium riding a 10-game winning streak in true road games, the second-longest active streak in all of FBS behind only Texas and its 11-game road win streak.
Overall, the Mustangs posted the No. 6 scoring offense throughout FBS football and the second-best in the ACC, logging 38.5 points per game. SMU has also been phenomenal at stopping the run, boasting the fourth-best rushing defense in college football, allowing just 93.4 yards per game on the ground. The defense has averaged 3.08 sacks per game this season which is the 11th-best mark in the country.
The Mustangs’ season took off with the move to Kevin Jennings as the starting quarterback. A semifinalist for the 2024 Davey O’Brien Award and the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award, Jennings led SMU to the 2024 ACC Football Championship Game in its first year in the ACC and is 9-1 as a full-time starter. Jennings ranks 10th in all of FBS in yards per pass attempt (8.87), 13th in passing efficiency (156.9), 18th in passing yards (3,050) and 20th in passing yards per completion (13.44).
Jennings has been aided on the offensive side of the ball by running back Brashard Smith, a Doak Walker Award semifinalist and an AFCA, Associated Press, CBS Sports All-American, who has rushed for 1,270 yards and 15 touchdowns on the season.
Penn State has posted an 11-2 record entering the first round of the CFP, including eight wins in Big Ten play. Like the Mustangs, the Nittany Lions fell in their conference championship game to No. 1 Oregon, 45-37. Penn State is also making its first appearance in the CFP with a home game in Beaver Stadium.
The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series against the Mustangs, 1-0-1, with the two teams last meeting back in 1978, a 26-21 home win for Penn State in State College. The two teams first met in 1948, playing to a 13-13 tie in the 1948 Cotton Bowl.
Saturday, Dec. 21, 4 p.m. ET
#12 Clemson at #5 Texas
College Football Playoff First Round; Austin, Texas
Series: First Meeting
TNT: Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Dusty Dvoracek (analyst), Taylor McGregor (sideline) and Laura Rutledge (sideline)
School Radio Feed: Clemson
SiriusXM Radio: SiriusXM 81 / SiriusXM 80
SiriusXM App: SiriusXM 81 /
SiriusXM 80
For the first time, the two national powerhouses in college football in the Clemson Tigers and Texas Longhorns will meet on the football field. Texas (959) and Clemson (808) have combined for 1,767 all-time victories, and both rank among the Top 13 in FBS history in victories.
For the seventh time since 2014, Clemson will compete for a national championship as the Tigers head to Austin, Texas, for the first round of the College Football Playoff. Clemson's seven berths trail only Alabama (eight) for the most in the nation. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney's seven CFP berths are the most of any active coach and one shy of Nick Saban (eight) for the most of any coach all-time.
The CFP berth extended Clemson’s school-record bowl streak to 20 years, the longest streak in the ACC and the fourth-longest streak in the country. Clemson’s 20-year streak dates to its Champs Sports Bowl win against Colorado to close the 2005 season. Though Clemson did not make a bowl appearance in 2004, Clemson has now been bowl-eligible in 26 consecutive seasons, dating to a 1999 appearance in the Peach Bowl.
The 2024 ACC Champions, Clemson, who won the 2016 and 2018 national championships, has done a great job of protecting the ball this season. The Tigers rank sixth nationally in fewest fumbles lost (3), 12th in fewest interceptions thrown (6) and ninth in all of FBS in fewest turnovers lost (9). On the flip side, the Tigers’ defense ranks ninth in takeaways (25), 15th in interceptions (15) and 17th in fumble recoveries (10), giving them a +16 turnover margin which ranks third nationally.
Clemson’s offense, led by quarterback Cade Klubnik, ranks second only behind Miami nationally in first downs made (317) and is 12th in total offense (454.9 yards per game) and 17th in passing offense (271.1 yards per game) while boasting the 16th-best scoring offense in the nation at 35.5 points per game.
Klubnik, the ACC Football Championship Game MVP, threw for 262 yards and four touchdowns in the Tigers’ win over SMU. During the year, Klubnik emerged as one of the nation’s elite quarterbacks. A semifinalist for the Maxwell Award and the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, and earning a spot on the Top 10 list for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, Klubnik ranks third in all of FBS with 33 passing touchdowns. He also ranks third nationally in points responsible for (240), fifth in all of FBS in points responsible for per game (18.5), 11th in passing yards (3,303), 12th in total offense per game (289.3) and15th in Total QBR rating (78.9).
The defense this year has been led by All-America linebacker Barrett Carter, as well as All-ACC selections T.J. Parker, Avieon Terrell, Payton Page and ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year Sammy Brown. Brown ranks second in the nation in tackles-for-loss by freshmen this season with 10.5.
Texas is making its second College Football Playoff appearance in as many years after earning the No. 3 seed in the 2023 CFP last year, with a semifinal appearance against the No. 2 Washington Huskies at the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The Longhorns are 12-1 at home over the last two seasons. The Longhorns are 12-2 overall this season coming off an SEC Championship game berth in their first season as conference members. Last time out, Texas lost 22-19 in overtime in the 2024 SEC Championship game versus Georgia on December 7 in Atlanta. It was the first-ever OT forced in the SEC Championship game.