For the second straight year, the No. 3 Texas Longhorns are in the College Football Playoff, this time at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium with a first-round matchup against the No. 16 Clemson Tigers in the new 12-team format. Head coach Steve Sarkisian’s team is a 13.5-point favorite, but Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik is the best passer Texas has faced this season and the Tigers defense is opportunistic, so the Longhorns will have to avoid the turnovers, penalties, and other mistakes that defined the two losses to the Bulldogs and often threatened to derail the season. Texas has benefitted from a week off following the SEC Championship game loss with redshirt junior quarterback Quinn Ewers, junior left tackle Kelvin Banks,
and junior wide receiver Isaiah Bond all dealing with ankle injuries. Ewers and Banks are both healthy now, but Bond was not dressed for pregame warmups. First quarter Texas won the toss and deferred to the second half, sending the kickoff unit for the Longhorns onto the field to start the game. Clemson started on the 25-yard line after the touchback by Will Stone. A second-pass by Klubnik moved the chains as the Tigers found a hole in the zone defense of the longhorns.
The first incompletion by Klubnik came on the next play, a run-pass option he pulled targeting Thorpe Award winner Jahdae Barron, who broke up the pass. A completion on second down set up third and short and Klubnik was able to step out of a sack and scramble past the marker. Under pressure again, Klubnik completed another pass moving to his left for nine yards before a called running play got enough for the first down. Running up the middle with Mafah Clemson remained on schedule with a seven-yard gain and moved the chains again on a short throw by Klubnik before calling a timeout to avoid a delay of game. A well-time blitz by Texas junior nickel back Jaylon Guilbeau inflicted the first negative play of the game on a Counter read keeper by Klubnik that lost a yard. Forced into third down when Klubnik gained four yards on a quarterback draw, Clemson scored first on a mesh concept that picked Guilbeau in coverage, resulting in a 22-yard touchdown by Antonio Williams.
