Rhett Lashlee, SMU hope to crash the ACC party, spoil Clemson playoff bid

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CHARLOTTE - SMU hopes to continue being the ACC’s party crashers.

The Mustangs are in the ACC Championship in year one of conference membership, proudly embracing the chaos they have imposed on the ACC shakeup.

Rhett Lashlee’s Mustangs aren’t strangers to the stakes of Championship Saturday, with his group in last year’s AAC Championship, taking down Tulane 26-14.

Lashlee says his group has been in “playoff mode” since early November, doing everything they can to ensure they are one of the last 12 teams standing.

SMU is 11-1 but has played in some tight contests this season. It won four one-possession games this fall and posted a 3-1 record in those outings.

Now, Lashlee faces his most significant task yet, taking on Dabo Swinney and Clemson in Saturday’s championship game (ABC/8 p.m.).

He and SMU feel the excitement of such a goal that’s close to being accomplished. For both, a win would secure a spot in the College Football Playoff. The only path there for the Tigers is a win over the Mustangs. If SMU falls short of a conference title, they will put their playoff destiny in the committee’s hands.

Lashlee had the opportunity to put on the sales pitch for his program,

"So we're going to choose to believe we did the right thing and we showed up," Lashlee said. "We value playing in a championship game. We value the opportunity to compete with Dabo and Clemson for an ACC Championship game. That is a big deal. That is a big deal, to have a chance to win our league's championship game. It's a bigger deal than just playing for seeding, although that's part of it, too. But that's the right thing to do. To me, that's integrity. We're going to show up and do the right thing. We're not going to find a way to bounce out because we were told on Tuesday night if you don't play, you're in at (No.) 8.

"But we also know that the committee has a tough job, and so we believe and trust that they're going to do the right thing, as well, and reward our guys who have earned the right not only to play here tomorrow night but to be one of the 12 best teams in America because they've ranked them there."

For the Mustangs to reach the top of the ACC mountain, one of those goals will be to stop Cade Klubnik and an improved Tiger offense.

Lashlee is all too familiar with Klubnik. He recruited him while he was the offensive coordinator at Miami and believes Clemson’s signal-caller is one of the best in the nation.

"You can just tell he's comfortable when things are there," Lashlee said. "He hits it on time, hits it on rhythm, gives his guys chances. He's comfortable when things are off schedule. He obviously is a problem for us tomorrow night because he can hurt you with his feet, which he's done a lot lately. He's big. He's strong. He's got confidence. He's a leader. He's what you want in a quarterback. I think he's the reason Clemson is in this game and had such a successful season. So we've got a lot of respect for him, and we've got our work cut out for him, especially up front trying to keep him contained for four quarters."

Lashlee sees talent everywhere on the other side of the ball with Clemson’s defense. There are several areas in his eyes that SMU has to account for.

"The problem with preparing for someone like Clemson is -- now, don't get me wrong; they're elite in some areas," Lashlee said. "They can rake the ball out at an elite level. I think their secondary is probably going to be the best we've played. They've got some edge pass rushers that they don't have to blitz to get pressure."

He doesn’t believe the Tigers possess “elite” talent everywhere, but he knows they are a unit capable of packing a punch.

"I don't know if they're elite everywhere, but they're not weak anywhere," Lashlee said. "They are solid at all three levels. They have NFL players on the D-line, they have NFL players at the linebacker level, and they have NFL players in the back end, and they play extremely hard. They run to the football, which is the sign of a great defense, which is also how they're able to force turnovers. They're really good on 3rd down. They're good in the red zone."

"So they're good in the critical moments, but they just don't have that area where you say, man, they've got a weakness there and we can just poke at it. We're going to have to earn everything we get offensively for four quarters, and that's what makes it hard on an offense."

The party crashers, as Lashlee likes to believe they are, face a program with a record of ACC dominance in the championship game. The festivities come together in Charlotte on a cold Saturday night, with a playoff spot on the line.

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