Sunday Thoughts: Wild Saturday gives Clemson another chance

Swinney and the Tigers have another shot at making the Playoff (Photo by Merrell Mann).

David Hood - Senior Writer - Sunday, December 01 2024

Not quite agony to ecstasy. But there were plenty of wild emotions on a wild and emotional rivalry weekend.

Clemson’s paw logo at midfield had barely recovered from its whipping – when South Carolina fans took belts off their pants and “whipped” the logo in some sordid and moronic demonstration of decades of frustration – when Syracuse did what some thought was impossible and defeated Miami, sending Clemson to the ACC Championship Game.

Happiness, yes. Ecstasy, no. There are still issues (and I am not sure they can be corrected this season), but the Tigers can break into the College Football Playoff with a victory over SMU on Saturday in Charlotte.

Contrary to popular perception, a Clemson win doesn’t guarantee a spot in the top four and a bye the opening week of the Playoff. The top four spots go to the top four highest-ranked conference champions. If SMU wins, they get a bye. For Clemson to get the bye, UNLV beating Boise State in the Mountain West Championship Game (Friday/8 p.m./FOX) would be the most likely path.

If Clemson wins and doesn’t get a top-four spot, the Tigers would be on the road for the first weekend of the Playoff, and that might mean a return trip to South Bend for a matchup with what might be No. 5 Notre Dame. But there is still a lot of football to be played -- who wins between Boise St. and UNLV and what happens in the SEC Championship Game, etc.

If the Tigers lose? There are three likely landing spots – the Gator Bowl (Jacksonville on Jan. 2nd), the Pop-Tarts Bowl (Orlando on Dec. 28th), or the Holiday Bowl (San Diego on Dec. 27th). I am guessing with that choice, a lot of Clemson fans would rather be in the Gator Bowl due to the location and timing, with the Pop-Tarts Bowl next on the list. Personally? I will take San Diego and see a different part of the country.

Before we turn the page on the South Carolina game, a few more observations after watching the TV copy. A big concern heading into the game was how Clemson’s injured offensive line would handle South Carolina’s defensive line, especially defensive ends Dylan Stewart and Kyle Kennard. The answer is they were fantastic, as both ends were basically no-shows. Stewart had one tackle, and Kennard was shut out of the stat column.

Matt Luke deserves all the money people can throw his way.

My friend Trey Kennedy posted a stat that noted freshman linebacker Sammy Brown logged just four snaps in the fourth quarter. Brown had four tackles and a tackle for loss in the first quarter alone when he logged 13 plays (out of 13 South Carolina snaps). He went down to 10 plays in the second quarter (16 South Carolina snaps), nine in the third (11 South Carolina snaps) but just four in the deciding fourth quarter when South Carolina ran 23 plays. Swinney said postgame that that's how the defensive schemes worked out and that no injury was involved.

There is no word on the extent of RJ Mickens’ injury, and of course, several people have noticed that running back Phil Mafah does not look one hundred percent healthy, yet backup Jay Haynes logged just two carries.

We talk to both ACC head coaches – Rhett Lashlee and Dabo Swinney – at 4 pm Sunday. Hopefully we have clarity on some of these questions then.