Texas head coach credits Swinney for Tigers' return to the Playoffs

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Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian gives credit to Clemson for rebounding from in-season adversity and advancing to the College Football Playoff, a rebound he says is founded on the culture built by Dabo Swinney.

Saturday's matchup is between the No. 12-seed Tigers (10-3) and No. 5-seed Texas (11-2) in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Kickoff is set for 4 PM (EST) on TNT in the first meeting between the two teams.

“Clemson's a really good team. Dabo for a long, long time has been winning a lot of games at Clemson. I think this is their seventh College Football Playoff appearance. He's won two national titles,” Sarkisian said Monday. “And this team really embodies what his teams have embodied over the years. They're really disciplined. Very few penalties. They take care of the football extremely well offensively. They create turnovers on defense. I think they're plus-16 in the turnover margin. They've got a veteran offensive and defensive line. You talk about winning and winning late into December and into January and how important the line of scrimmage is. They've got veteran o- and d-linemen who play really well.”

Sarkisian says people should doubt Swinney – who has received pushback because of the transfer portal and NIL – at their own risk. He went on to say that Clemson’s return to the Playoff is because Swinney doesn’t waver from his beliefs.

"It speaks volumes to who he is as a coach. I've always said it took me all the way to getting to this job to really know who I was and what I believed in and the foundation of our program,” he said. “I think Dabo knows who he is and knows what his program stands for. He stands on that. The players that choose to go to Clemson believe in that. When you do that, you don't have to vary too much. I think the programs that can get themselves in trouble, it's one day you're this, the next day you're that.

"Clemson knows who they are, and they play to their strengths. That's a byproduct of Dabo knows who he is. Ton of credit to him of getting their team to the playoffs and fighting through some of the adversity early on in the season and earning this opportunity. Like I said, it's going to be a heck of a challenge for us, but a lot of credit to he and his staff and their players to earn this opportunity."

Sarkisian said the Clemson offense runs through quarterback Cade Klubnik, a player he knows from Klubnik’s time at Austin (TX) Westlake.

"They've got a really good quarterback. We've known Cade (Klubnik) a long time, since his time here at Westlake. Highly competitive young man,” Sarkisian said. “He's going to do what it takes to put them in a position to try to win. He's had a really good season throwing it. He's had a very good season running it. They spread the ball around. So a lot of great challenges that they present. They didn't get to this point on accident.

"First of all, he's got real weapons around him. The Antonio Williams kid, the (Bryant) Wesco kid, the tight end. I mean, they spread the ball around. They've got a real running game with (Phil) Mafah. So it's not all on Cade. I think they've got weapons around him. They've got a really good running game, but yet they've got scheme that allows the quarterback run game to become a factor. You're starting to worry about this receiver over here, this tight end over here, the running back who's a 1,000-yard rusher here. And next thing you know, it's a quarterback direct run that can catch you off guard. So you've got to really be disciplined in this game.”

Sarkisian went on to praise Klubnik’s toughness.

"And his grit. As we know, one of Cade's best strengths is his grit, his toughness. He is a young kid. He is a tough-minded kid,” he said. “It's one that's going to be challenging schematically, but also we're going to have to play well. We're going to have to play physical. We're going to have to get him on the ground because he's not just going to run and slide. You're going to have to get him on the ground."

The Longhorns had 22 turnovers this season and Clemson’s defense created 25, allowing the Tigers to finish fifth nationally in turnover margin. Sarkisian said Clemson’s defense uses its pressure to create those turnovers.

"I think, one, is their ability to get to the quarterback. I think they average like three sacks a game on defense,” he said. “They can generate pass rush and they can create forced fumbles in that aspect of it. I think, two, like us, you can tell they practice attacking the ball. You have to practice creating turnovers. You have to work at it. And you can tell they work at it. You can see the intent in which they go after the ball. Our intent has to really be protecting that ball."

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