Clemson football saw its 2024 season come to an end with a 38-24 loss to Texas on Saturday in the first round of the newly expanded College Football Playoffs.
For a brief moment it seemed as if it might be the Tigers’ day when Cade Klubnik lead Clemson down the field and capped a 12-play drive with a 22-yard touchdown strike to Antonio Williams, but the Longhorns came right back with a 12-play foray of their own to tie the game 7-7 on their way to 21 unanswered first half points.
Clemson brought things to within 11 late in the second quarter with a 32-yard Nolan Houser field goal, but Texas stormed right back with another touchdown on a 19-yard strike from Quin Ewers to Gunnar Helm to extend the Clemson football deficit to 28-10 at the intermission. Burt Auburn would give the Longhorns their largest lead of the afternoon with a 22-yard field goal to make it 31-10 with 8:10 to play in the third, but Clemson would battle back with their season on the brink.
Klubnik orchestrated a four play, 55-yard drive in just 1:05 of game time which he capped with a 22-yard pass over the middle to running back Jarvis Green to cut the Texas lead to 31-17. After a crucial defensive stand, the Tigers would get it back and Klubnik would cash in again with a seven-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Moore to punctuate a 10-play drive.
Then, disaster.
Stopping the run has plagued Clemson all season long and with a trip to the play-off quarterfinals hanging in the balance, that inability to stop opponents’ ground games finally doomed Clemson football for good.
On the second play of the ensuing Texas drive, Jaydon Blue took a handoff and ran around the left side and found a crease which allowed him to break free for a 77-yard touchdown run which would ultimately break the Tigers’ backs.
The last gasp for Clemson came on their next drive when the Tigers had third and goal at the Longhorns’ one-yard line and were stuffed on consecutive run plays. From there, Texas was simply able to drain away the clock and punch their ticket to Atlanta where they will face Arizona State next week.
Ultimately, it was a game marred with missed opportunities and what could have beens for Clemson football. Klubnik was once again stellar, putting together the best day passing that any opposing quarterback has accomplished against the Longhorns’ number one ranked defense this saeason.
Cade finished the day completing 26 of 43 passes for 336 yards and three scores. It brought Klubnik over the 4,000-yard passing threshold for the season. Moore finished with nine receptions for 116 yards and Jake Briningstool and Antonio Williams had 69 and 66 receiving yards respectively.
Wide receiver-turned-running back Adam Randall led all rushers for Clemson football with 44 yards on four carries.
For Texas, Ewers finished with 202 passing yards on 17 completions in 24 attempts. Blue led all rushers with 146 yards on 14 attempts while Quintrevion Wisner had 115 rushing yards on 10 carries. Helm had 77 receiving yards on six receptions for Texas.
Clemson Football finishes its 2024 season with a mixed bag of results. The Tigers once again reach the 10-win mark and finished with a final record of 10-4 and won the ACC Championship for the ninth time under head coach Dabo Swinney. It was the seventh trip to the play-offs for Swinney, but the Tigers’ national championship drought reaches five years with the loss.
Now, the Tigers will regroup and reload as preparation for the 2025 campaign begins. It could be a Clemson team with a vastly different look but also one that potentially could return many key pieces to set up a successful campaign to come. Until then, Clemson football will have to simmer on a disappointing evening in Austin, TX and think about what could have been.
