too big a hole in the first half. Everything was uphill.” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “We just put it in Cade’s hands and let it rip.”

The runner-up in the Southeastern Conference, Texas is the only one of last season’s four playoff teams to make the new 12-team field. Clemson won the ACC championship to make the playoff. The Tigers were the No. 12 seed in their first appearance since 2020 and seventh overall.

“It’s not easy to get on this stage (again), and they earned it,” Sarkisian said. “It think college football got this one right. This idea of a home playoff game with a 12-team format was pretty special.”

The Tigers had three big fourth-down chances in the fourth quarter. They turned the first one into a touchdown when Klubnik threw to T.J. Moore. But they came up short on the next two. Keith Adams Jr. was stuffed at the Texas 1 and Klubnik pass at the Texas 26 was incomplete with just over a minute left.

“We’ve got big people,” Sarkisian said. “And they know how to play a physical brand of football.”