NCAA Football

2024-12-07 - Clemson Tigers at SMU Mustangs

A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown

SMU Mustangs vs Clemson Tigers
United States : College Football Week 15- ACC Championship Game
Saturday 7th December 2024 - Scheduled 8pm
1am (British Time)

Preview

The upset suffered by the Miami Hurricanes in Week 14 has cost them not only a place in the ACC Championship Game, but also the College Football Playoff if the latest Rankings are anything to go by.

It leaves the SMU Mustangs (11-1) and Clemson Tigers (9-3) fighting it out for the Championship and a place in the twelve team Playoff.

Controversy could perhaps strike if the Mustangs were to lose- there is a real feeling that the team that loses this one will be left out of the Playoff and that despite the fact that SMU finished the regular season with two fewer losses than the Alabama Crimson Tide. There is plenty of lobbying happening behind the scenes by the ACC, a Conference that feels let down already having seen the unbeaten Florida State Seminoles left out of the four team Playoff last season.

That disappointment was furthered by seeing where the Hurricanes were Ranked following a second loss of the season and having the Mustangs punished for losing in the Conference Championship Game when Alabama failed to make the SEC Championship Game would sting.

Fans of the Mustangs will be hoping that their team can focus on simply winning and crowning themselves ACC Champions. They have not had the most taxing of schedules, which is something the Committee may hold against them if losing to the dangerous Clemson Tigers, especially with Clemson way down the Rankings after losing to South Carolina in their last regular season game.

Dabo Swinney has guided the Tigers to National Championship success before and the opportunity to reach the Playoff will be one that they will be very keen on taking. The upset of the Hurricanes opened the door for Clemson and they have a team that will feel they have 'nothing to lose' having expected the season to be almost over in terms of their major goals.

This is going to be one of the toughest tests that the Mustangs Defensive unit have faced all season, but SMU have plenty of motivation to prove how good they are. The Defensive Line has been one that has clamped down on the run and the Line of Scrimmage looks like being a big part of what will happen on this side of the ball.

Clemson will want to run the ball and keep Cade Klubnik in third and manageable spots and they have been pretty good at getting the Offensive Line to push forward and create running lanes. This will be very important to negate the powerful pass rush that the Mustangs have put together in recent games and just ensure the Quarter Back is not having to allow routes to develop down the field.

Over the course of the season there have bene opportunities to throw well against this SMU Secondary so Klubnik is going to be confident he can have another big game. However, the Mustangs are playing with a different confidence level now and you have to believe they can rattle Cade Klubnik with the pressure up front and that could lead to stray passes to stall drives.

The Mustangs will also want to show they belong in the Playoff with a big performance from the Offensive unit, one that may make up for any defeat they could potentially suffer. The Committee have made it clear that the ACC is not seen as strong as the SEC and so the 8-0 regular season record means little when it has not been build on teams that are Ranked highly by the Playoff Committee.

Losing to a team significantly lower in the Rankings will hurt SMU, but they will want to show they can compete with a school that has regularly played in the post-season and won National Championships.

Kevin Jennings has had a strong year at Quarter Back and his dual-threat capabilities are going to be important for the Mustangs- they have not run the ball as well in recent games, but they are facing a Clemson Defensive Line that has not played Quarter Backs with Jennings' ability all that well and who have struggled to deal with the rush.

Playing in front of the chains is going to be massive advantage for the SMU Offensive unit and there are one or two holes in this Tigers Secondary that can be exploited. It will just force the Tigers to slow the pass rush a touch, while the SMU Offensive Line have been good enough to give Kevin Jennings enough time to find spaces down the field.

Turnovers will be important in this game, but there is a feeling that the SMU Mustangs are better than some people are willing to give them credit for. They have come through all of their challenges in the ACC and even the narrow defeat to the BYU Cougars is not that bad considering how close they came to playing in the Big 12 Championship Game and potentially making the Playoffs themselves.

You know the experience of the Clemson Coaching staff is going to make this a real test, but it is one that SMU can come through and book their place in the College Football Playoff for the first time.