Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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46 JANUARY 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED C O L L E G E F O O T B A L L P L A Y O F F SMU agreed to forgo a share of the ACC's media- rights revenue just for the sake of joining the confer- ence and not getting left behind in the realignment frenzy that's swept through collegiate athlet- ics in the last handful of years, and all the Mustangs did was run through every single one of their league games in the regu- lar season with an unblemished record. A perfect 8-0. Ho-hum. Not a big deal. Under third-year coach Rhett Lashlee, the Mustangs have earned everything they've got- ten. Two of the school's four 11- win seasons in program history have come in the last two years. Part of the recent success was born out of the transfer portal and name, image and likeness. SMU added players from Oklahoma, Miami and Oregon via the portal ahead of the 2024 season. Players from those programs don't typically end up playing in a helmet with the Dallas "D" emblazoned on the side, but circumstances are different in the current climate of college ball. SMU has taken full advantage. On the field, it's about balance for the Ponies. They went into conference championship weekend with the No. 5 scoring offense and No. 19 scoring defense in the country. The other teams that are also top 20 in both categories are mostly College Football Playoff participants — Notre Dame, Ohio State, Tennessee, Indiana, Oregon, Alabama, Tulane and Ole Miss. So, it checks out because that's exactly what SMU is. A contender to win this whole thing. Just don't tell Lashlee or any- one else in Dallas that. SMU plays its best ball when there is a chip on its shoulder, so the Mustangs aren't going into the College Football Playoff with a macro-mindset. They aren't thinking national title for the first time since 1982. "Can't let ourself go there … the job's not done," Lashlee said. "We all understand what's in front of us and the op- portunities that we have, but if you sit around and think about that too long you won't stay present. "We have put ourself in this position. It's what we wanted to do. We talked about before the season, we wanted to prove we belong and put ourself in position in November to be playing for something and we are. So, that part is accomplished. Now we've got to go finish. We've got to finish the deal." — Tyler Horka Conference championship weekend was simple for Dabo Swinney and his Clemson Tigers. Win, and they're in. Lose, and they're out. So Swinney and his guys, even this watered-down version of them from who they used to be as the best program in the sport, did what they've customarily done in December over the last decade. They won. Now Clemson is in the 12-team College Football Playoff field when the Tigers just as easily could have been a four- loss team if they lost to SMU in the ACC Championship Game. They were supposed to, by the way. Clemson was the underdog. Now the Tigers are in the dance. All you need to do this time of year is get a seat at the table. Swinney knows. Clemson was the first 15-0 na- tional championship-winning team of all time in 2018. Now the Tigers can be the first three-loss national title winner of all time. Why not, Swinney reckons? "It's just football," he said. "We've got a bunch of good football players. All you've got to do is win the game you're playing. Why not? I mean, somebody's going to win it." On paper or via the much-subjective eye test, though, Clemson doesn't jump out as a team that can feasibly win it all. The Tigers were trounced, 34-3, in the season opener by a Georgia team we've come to know is much more vulnerable than past versions of that elite pro- gram, and somehow Louisville bullied them into a 33-21 loss. Notre Dame beat Louisville 31- 24, handing the Cardinals some points via fortunate field position swings in the process. Then when Clemson had a chance to get to 10 wins in the regular season and bolster an at- large case for the CFP, not knowing it would qualify for the ACC title game and have a chance to get in through that avenue instead, the Tigers fell on their faces in their annual rivalry game against South Carolina in a 17-14 home defeat. But they're in nonetheless, and as Swinney said, somebody's got to win it. Twelve teams have that opportunity. Clemson, against all odds and common sense seeing the way they strug- gled at times this season, is one of them. — Tyler Horka NO. 12 Clemson Tigers NO. 11 SMU Mustangs First-Round Matchup: at No. 6 Penn State Dec. 21 in University Park, Pa. Quarterfinal Opponent: No. 3 Boise State Dec. 31 in the Fiesta Bowl at Glendale, Ariz. 2024 Record: 11-2, 8-0 ACC Head coach: Rhett Lashlee (29-11, third season at SMU and overall) Soonest the Irish could see them: National semifinals Jan. 9 in the Orange Bowl at Miami or Jan. 10 in the Cotton Bowl at Arlington, Texas All-time series vs. Notre Dame: Irish lead 10-3 Last meeting vs. Notre Dame: Irish 59, Mustangs 6 (Nov. 11, 1989, at South Bend) First-Round Matchup: at No. 5 Texas Dec. 21 in Austin Texas Potential Quarterfinal Opponent: No. 4 Arizona State Jan. 1 in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Atlanta 2024 Record: 10-3, 7-1 ACC Head coach: Dabo Swinney (180-46, 17th season at CU and overall) Soonest the Irish could see them: College Football Playoff National Championship Jan. 20 in Atlanta All-time series vs. Notre Dame: Tigers lead 5-3 Last meeting vs. Notre Dame: Ti- gers 31, Irish 23 (Nov. 4, 2023, in Clemson, S.C) 2024 STAT LEADERS Rushing: RB Brashard Smith (1,270 yards, 14 TD) Passing: QB Kevin Jennings (3,050 yards, 22 TD, 8 INT) Receiving: WR Roderick Daniels Jr. 599 yards, 3 TD) Tackles: LB Kobe Wilson (110) Sacks: DE Jahfari Harvey (7) Interceptions: S Isaiah Nwokobia, S Ahmaad Moses and S Jonathan McGill (3) 2024 SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 24 at Nevada W, 29-24 Aug. 31 Houston Christian W, 59-7 Sept. 6 BYU L, 18-15 Sept. 21 TCU W, 66-42 Sept. 28 Florida State W, 42-16 Oct. 5 at Louisville W, 34-27 Oct. 19 at Stanford W, 40-10 Oct. 26 at Duke W, 28-27 (OT) Nov. 2 Pitt W, 48-25 Nov. 16 Boston College W, 38-28 Nov. 23 at Virginia W, 33-7 Nov. 30 California W, 38-6 Dec. 7 vs. Clemson* L, 34-31 Dec. 21 at Penn State^ (TNT) 12 p.m. * ACC Championship at Charlotte, N.C. ^ College Football Playoff first round 2024 STAT LEADERS Rushing: RB Phil Mafah (1,106 yards, 8 TD) Passing: QB Cade Klubnik (3,303 yards, 33 TD, 5 INT) Receiving: WR Antonio Williams (838 yards, 10 TD) Tackles: LB Barrett Carter (76) Sacks: DE T.J Parker (11) Interceptions: S Khalil Barnes (4) 2024 SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 31 vs. Georgia# L, 34-3 Sept. 7 Appalachian State W, 66-20 Sept. 21 NC State W, 59-35 Sept. 28 Stanford W, 40-14 Oct. 5 at Florida State W, 29-13 Oct. 12 at Wake Forest W, 49-14 Oct. 19 Virginia W, 48-31 Nov. 2 Louisville L, 33-21 Nov. 9 at Virginia Tech W, 24-14 Nov. 16 at Pitt W, 24-20 Nov. 23 The Citadel W, 51-14 Nov. 30 South Carolina L, 17-14 Dec. 7 vs. SMU* W, 34-31 Dec. 21 at Texas^ (TNT) 4 p.m. # at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta * ACC Championship in Charlotte, N.C. ^ College Football Playoff first round