National outlet assesses strengths, flaws to Clemson and Texas

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Clemson heads to Austin, Texas to face the Longhorns and seeks an upset as a double-digit underdog to the home team Saturday (4 p.m. ET/TNT) for a trip to the Peach Bowl quarterfinals against Arizona State on Jan. 1.

CBS Sports assessed some strengths and weaknesses to the teams this week.

One area to watch for Texas comes in red zone offense.

"The Longhorns have a bevy of talented skill position players, a veteran quarterback and a coach in Steve Sarkisian who has been known to scheme up explosive plays for his best players," CBS Sports' Chip Patterson writes. "Yet the Texas offense also carries a reputation for leaving money on the table. As we turn our attention to the playoff the ability to finish drives with touchdowns has to be a top concern in Austin.

"The Longhorns do a great job of moving the ball into scoring position, but when the field gets small the success rate drops off a cliff. Texas is No. 8 in the country in red zone attempts on the season, but their red zone conversion percentage (81.4%) ranks 93rd. Sometimes, like in the 34-3 win against rival Oklahoma in Dallas, the red zone failures don't impact the ultimate result as much. Texas had six red zone opportunities in that win but walked away with only two touchdowns and two field goals. But the caliber of opponents that Texas will face in the CFP is a notable step up from where the Sooners were in 2024.

"Look no further than the overtime loss to Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. Texas had three red zone attempts and came away with just six points on two field goals. It's not hard to see how that hurts a team's chances in a 3-point overtime loss."

Clemson will look to rectify its woes in stopping the run to continue those red zone issues for Texas.

"While the many associate Clemson's national title runs with quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence, the foundation of those runs was always the Tigers' ability to impact the game on defense," Patterson said. "That's where we see a potential flaw for Clemson heading into the playoff, specifically with their run defense. The Tigers rank No. 90 in the country with 4.56 yards per carry allowed and No. 94 in defensive run EPA, per TruMedia. Louisville moved the ball effectively on the ground in its stunning win over Clemson in Death Valley earlier this season, and South Carolina did so as well though the Gamecocks couldn't convert those yards into points at the same clip. Texas may not have the most dynamic rushing attack, but the Longhorns are physical and effective enough to lean on that ground game to defend a lead if Clemson is unable to get stops."

When it comes to the ultimate goal -- hoisting a gold trophy in Atlanta on Jan. 20, Texas looks to lean on a battle-tested roster.

"Texas doesn't own a single top-25 win this season," CBS' Brandon Marcello said, "but the Longhorns have been tested in multiple big games in the SEC. The 22-19 overtime loss to Georgia in the SEC title game may have been disappointing, but the Longhorns showed noticeable improvement since losing 30-15 at home to the Bulldogs earlier in the season.

"The focus has been on the Longhorns' star power at quarterback -- and whether Quinn Ewers should be replaced by Arch Manning -- but the defense has carried the team. It's the program's best in 40 years, allowing only 12.5 points per game, the best mark since 1983. Even if he is still slowed by an abdominal strain, Ewers has managed to throw a touchdown in 24 straight games, the longest active streak in the FBS.

"Texas is 5-1 against the spread as a double-digit favorite and enters the first round as a 10.5-point favorite against Clemson [12-point spread currently now], which is 0-5 against top-five teams on the road."

For Clemson, Dabo Swinney's success guides the Tigers.

"Dabo Swinney has the most experience in the playoff with seven appearances, including six straight from 2015-20, and somehow managed to pull Clemson out of three losses, including two at home, and into the CFP with an impressive win against SMU in the ACC Championship Game," Marcello said. "Clemson might have long odds to reach the national championship, but don't sell a two-time national champion short."

Ranking the Playoff QBs, Cade Klubnik and Ewers checked in at Nos. 8 and 9, respectively.

"For all intents and purposes, Klubnik is the Clemson offense," CBS' Tom Fornelli said. "That's proven to be a double-edged sword. When he's on, the offense is effective, but when he's off, things get ugly fast. We saw a little of both against SMU, where Klubnik finished with four touchdowns but disappeared for most of the final three quarters. He'll have to be a lot more consistent if the Tigers plan to make any noise in the playoffs...

"This ranking isn't reflective of what I think of Ewers at his best. It's a reflection of how I view him now when he's not 100% healthy. He's still recovering from an oblique injury and he's added an ankle injury to his current list of maladies. So far, he's still had enough against anybody not named Georgia, but there are a lot more Georgias in the playoff than were on the rest of Texas' schedule. He has the ability to be No. 1 in these rankings (and has been early in the season), but can he get back there?"

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