SMU came back from a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but that wasn’t enough.
Clemson hit a 56-yard field goal as time expired to earn a 34–31 victory in the ACC title game, earning an automatic bid to the College Football Playoff.
The Tigers were ranked 17th in the country, so at least one team in the top-12 will have a shot at the playoffs.
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(L-R) SMU Mustangs head coach Rhett Lashlee and Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney speak before the 2024 ACC Football Championship at Bank of America Stadium on December 7, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
SMU, ranked No. 8 in the nation entering the title game, may now just be on the outside looking in.
The fate of the ponies is in your hands of the CFP Committeebut if Dabo Swinney insisted, his decision would be clear.
“That’s a playoff team. SMU, they better be in the damn playoff,” he told ESPN on the field after the game.
“There’s no way they wouldn’t be in these playoffs.”
Swinney and Rhett Lashlee shared a long embrace at midfield as the game-winning field goal went through the uprights, and it’s hard to imagine Swinney not sharing those sentiments with the SMU head coach.
Clemson Tigers Head Coach Dabo Swinney speaks with his team during the first half of the ACC Championship game at Bank of America Stadium on December 7, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (David Jensen/Getty Images)
SMU tied the game with 16 seconds left on a 16-play drive, but Adam Randall returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards to their own 45. Cade Klubnik then found Antonio Williams for 17 yards, and the Tigers called a time- out, bringing out Nolan Hauser. , who trained the 56-year-old with a lot of surplus.
Clemson and Arizona State will battle it out in the quarterfinals – the Sun Devils defeated Iowa State in the Big 12 championship on Saturday afternoon.
Nolan Hauser #81 of the Clemson Tigers celebrates with teammates after scoring the game-winning field goal following the 2024 ACC Football Championship at Bank of America Stadium on December 7, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
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Naturally, the committee decided to go to twelve teams so that there would be more room for error; Given the controversy over Florida State’s omission last year, who would have thought this would still be difficult?
The entire field will be announced on Sunday at noon ET.
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