By STEVE REED
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Cade Klubnik threw for 262 yards and four touchdowns, Nolan Hauser kicked 56-yard field goal as time expired and the No. 18 Clemson knocked off No. 8 SMU 34-31 Saturday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff and position itself for a first-round bye.
Hauser’s field goal was the longest in ACC championship game history.
Bryant Wesco had eight catches for 143 yards and two TDs in the first quarter for the Tigers (10-3, No. 17 CFP), who needed a win to get into the expanded 12-team playoffs. Jake Briningstool added two short TD receptions as Clemson improved to 9-1 in ACC championship games under coach Dabo Swinney.
“What a way to win,” Swinney said. “… To head the playoffs for the seventh time, man, the heart of our guys. We have been so close but we found a way.”
Kevin Jennings threw for 310 yards and three touchdowns and ran a score for SMU (11-1, No. 8 CFP), which had gone 8-0 in the regular season in its first year since in the ACC after moving over from American Athletic Conference.
The mistake-filled loss cost the Mustangs a shot at a first-round bye in the CFP and potentially could keep them out of the field altogether.
Swinney pushed for the Mustangs to get in after battling back from 17 points down to tie the game.
“Listen. That’s a playoff football team. SMU, they better be in the dang playoffs,” Swinney said. “What a comeback by those guys.”
Clemson edge rusher T.J. Parker set the tone on the game’s first series with a sack-fumble and Klubnik threw three first quarter touchdown passes as the Tigers, a 2 1/2-point underdog, bolted to a 21-7 lead. Klubnik finished the first quarter 8 of 10 for 120 yards with three TDs, including scoring tosses of 45 and 35 yards to Wesco.
Everything seemed to be going Clemson’s way in the first half.
As Klubnik was trying to escape pressure on one play in the second quarter, he was hit from behind and fumbled the ball forward about 10 yards where tight end Briningstool alertly dove between two defenders to recover the ball near midfield and give the Tigers a first down.
Clemson tacked on a field goal late in the second quarter and SMU went into the locker down 24-7, its largest deficit this season.
“We did some things that were uncharacteristic in the first quarter that put us in a hole and it was hard, but we dug out of it,” SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said.
SMU cut the lead to 31-24 with seven minutes left after Matthew Hibner hauled in a 20-yard touchdown reception from Jennings and Collin Rogers connected on a 46-yard field goal.
The Mustangs’ defense forced a third straight punt on the ensuring possession, giving Jennings and the offense the ball back at their own 21 with four minutes to play. Jennings drove the Mustangs 79 yards in 16 plays, finding Roderick Daniels with a 4-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds left to tie the game.
“He looked like a playoff quarterback to me,” Lashlee said. “Hopefully America gets to see him in the playoffs.”
The game looked to be headed to overtime, but Adam Randall’s 41-yard kickoff return gave Clemson the ball at their own 45. Klubnik found Antonio Williams for a 17-yard gain at the SMU 38 with three ticks left, setting up Hauser’s winning kick.
“We just didn’t cover the kick well,” Lashlee said. “Give Clemson credit, they played well early and they finished on the last play.”
Swinney said he wasn’t sure if Hauser had the leg to make the final kick, but the Charlotte native responded.
“He will go down in Clemson lore with that one,” Swinney said.
The takeaway
Clemson: The Tigers won the game up front in the trenches, dominating the line of scrimmage and keeping pressure on Jennings throughout the game. Rarely was there a pass play when the SMU quarterback wasn’t scrambling out of the pocket and trying to avoid being sacked.
SMU: Perhaps it was the nerves from being on the big stage at the ACC title game, but the Mustangs struggled with mistakes in the first quarter, including several dropped passes, penalties and two turnovers. SMU’s defensive backs struggled keeping up with the speed of Clemson’s receivers.
Up next
Clemson will see if it gets a first-round bye, while SMU awaits its fate in the playoffs.
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