Jaydon Blue ended Clemson’s hopes of a comeback on Saturday.
The Texas running back sprinted for a 77-yard TD with 10:48 to go to give Texas a two-TD lead in the No. 5 Longhorns’ 38-24 win over No. 12 Clemson.
The Tigers had pulled within seven with 11:43 to go when Cade Klubnik found a wide-open T.J. Moore in the end zone on fourth down. It was the second straight Clemson score as Texas had taken a 21-point lead with 8:10 to go in the third.
But two plays after Klubnik’s TD pass, Blue made the entirety of Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium exhale with his dash to the end zone.
Blue’s run didn’t come out of nowhere. Clemson struggled to contain the Texas run game all day as the Longhorns were committed to moving the ball on the ground. Texas nearly averaged over six yards a carry and rushed 46 times for 295 yards before the final kneeldowns to end the game.
After Blue’s TD, Clemson drove down the field and was on the precipice of another TD to cut the deficit to a single touchdown. But the Texas defense stuffed Clemson on back-to-back runs at the 1 yard-line and forced a turnover on downs.
From there, Texas drained most of the clock to officially extinguish any hopes of a Clemson comeback.
Had the Tigers somehow come back, it would have been the largest comeback in College Football Playoff history. Instead, the record still stands at 17, as Georgia overcame that deficit in its epic Rose Bowl win over Oklahoma in 2018.
Texas will face Arizona State
The win means Texas will head to the Peach Bowl and play No. 4 Arizona State in the quarterfinals. The Sun Devils got the last bye in the field by winning the Big 12 and finished ahead of Clemson in the final set of CFP rankings.
The victory came with a cost, too. Texas got back star LT Kelvin Banks Jr. for the game but lost Cam Williams and Jake Majors along the offensive line during the game. Williams was hurt on a second-quarter screen pass and Majors was injured on a blindside block following a Clemson interception. Neither player was able to finish the game after their injuries.
As Texas rushed the ball over 40 times, Quinn Ewers threw it just 24 times. Ewers was 17-of-24 passing for 202 yards and a TD. The interception mentioned above wasn’t his fault. It bounced off Matthew Golden’s hands and into the arms of Clemson’s R.J. Mickens.
Blue finished with 14 carries for 146 yards and two TDs, while Quintrevion Wisner had 15 carries for 110 yards and two scores.
Cade Klubnik’s return to Austin
Klubnik grew up in Austin and went to Austin Westlake High School. His team beat Southlake Carroll for the 2020 Texas 6A Division I state title. The QB for Southlake Carroll? Quinn Ewers.
Klubnik led Clemson on an opening TD drive and had a great game even as Clemson couldn’t figure out a run game. With Phil Mafah limited by a shoulder injury, Clemson rushed just 24 times for 76 yards. That number includes a 41-yard run by Adam Randall. Without that, the Tigers had 23 carries for just 35 yards.
Klubnik himself was stifled on the ground, but was able to find success through the air. He was 26-of-43 passing for 336 yards and three TDs with an interception.
