‘Anything Can Happen’: Swinney and Clemson Have CFB Playoff in Front of Them

When LaNorris Sellers raced into the end zone with 1:08 remaining in Saturday’s Palmetto Bowl, lifting South Carolina to a stunning 17-14 lead, Clemson’s College Football Playoff hopes seemed to evaporate. Moments later, Cade Klubnik’s attempt to salvage the Tigers’ fate was intercepted, leaving Death Valley silent and deflated.

To make matters worse, the Miami Hurricanes sprinted to a 21-0 lead over Syracuse in their finale, all but ensuring Clemson’s postseason playoff dream was over. As the kids say, the Tigers were cooked.

Then, in an improbable twist, the Orange mounted a furious comeback, shocking Miami and punching Clemson’s ticket to Saturday night’s ACC Championship Game against SMU (11-1, 8-0 ACC). The stakes couldn’t be higher for the Tigers: a conference crown, a potential College Football Playoff berth, and a shot at redemption.

“We're playing for a freaking championship,” head coach Dabo Swinney said. “It's like the NFL now in that you have a 17-team league, right? You don't get to play everybody, and some games mean more than others. We go schedule just like in the NFL. You see teams with losing records get in the playoffs, right? It's all about winning the right games and qualifying.”

Clemson’s path to this point has been far from perfect. The loss to South Carolina was a gut punch, costing the Tigers a chance to finish with a sparkling regular-season record. But Swinney is focused on the bigger picture.

“You're pissed off and disappointed about missing an opportunity yesterday, for sure,” he admitted. “You hurt for that because we could have had a great regular season, and we came up short, but we're 7-1 in our league, and we're playing for a championship for the 10th time in 16 years. So you’re dang straight—that's not good—it’s great.” 

The Tigers have shown resilience all season, improving on their disappointing 4-4 conference record from last year.

“We were 4-4 in the league last year, so we didn't accomplish all of our goals this year to this point, but we got better in a lot of areas,” Swinney said. “We weren't in the championship last year, and so we went from 4-4 to 7-1, and we're back in it.”

Standing between Clemson and a championship is an SMU team riding a nine-game winning streak in its first season in the ACC. The Mustangs, led by head coach Rhett Lashlee, have been one of the best teams in the nation on both sides of the ball, ranking 5th in scoring offense (39.2 ppg) and 19th in scoring defense (19.7 ppg).

“We're playing a hot team,” Swinney said. “We're playing with one of the best teams in the country, and that's playing with a lot of precision on both sides of the ball. We're going to have to play our best football, and we’ve not done that yet. We were close. We had some opportunities yesterday, and we didn't do it. But you know what? It ain't too late to play our best football. Hopefully, we can find a way to get that done this week and hold that trophy up—but it will be a tall task.”

Clemson’s climb to this moment has been fueled by its grit and determination, even amid heartbreaking losses.

“It is a close-knit bunch and, man, there was a lot of pain in that locker room yesterday, a lot of hurt,” Swinney reflected. “They laid it on the line, they competed their butts off. We're a team that's just going to continue to keep moving forward.”

That mindset has defined Clemson’s run to the ACC Championship. Despite a midseason stumble and narrow escapes, Swinney sees this opportunity as validation of his team’s fight.

“We had one disappointing conference game, but we rallied—we got to 7-1 and you can only play the games you’ve got,” he said. “So I'm really proud of them. They've competed their butts off all year and this is what it's all about. At the end of the day, everybody wants a chance to play in your championship. Regardless of how you get there, whether you're 12-0 or 9-3, it doesn't matter. What matters is what you do on that day.”

For Swinney, the current playoff system allows programs like Clemson to dream big, even after adversity.

“The way the system is set up now, you have an opportunity. I mean, we got a chance to go to our seventh College Football Playoff with a win, and anything can happen, you know, so it's college football, anything can happen.”

The Tigers will take the field Saturday night with everything on the line. Win, and they could rewrite their season narrative. Lose, and the heartbreak will linger. As Swinney said, in college football, anything can happen.

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