By Pete Fiutak College Football News | College Football Predictions, Analysis and Updates
It was a Texas coronation for most of the College Football Playoff first round game against Clemson, but it turned tense over the last 15 minutes of the 38-24 Longhorn win.Down 31-10, Clemson fought back with two quick touchdown drives to pull within seven, and then with just under 11 minutes to play Texas got the 77-yard touchdown run from Jaydon Blue needed to put the team into the CFP Quarterfinals.Here are five key takeaways from the game. Fiu Bluesky | CFN Bluesky | CFN X | CFN FB
5. Texas vs Clemson was … fun?
Yeah, it was a double-digit game. Yeah, Texas was winning in a blowout before it took a little nap. Yeah, it was sort of slow and seemed like it took a little too long. But Clemson is the ACC Champion, it has good players, and it played like it. It fought back and made all the Longhorn types sweat.(Believe me – the texts from the Texas types went from sheer panic to dead silence.)
It’s a very, very small sample size, but this might be the difference in how this expanded CFP will work. There will be a few overmatched outliers in the mix who simply don’t have the talent to mount a strong comeback, but when you get the power on power games, it’s going to be a fight.Clemson had several chances to make it frightening in the final minutes, but a Longhorn goal line stand, a few clutch throws from Quinn Ewers, and this was finally over.It was a strange journey, but it was entertaining.
4. Clemson still needs a few more guys.
Clemson was good enough to back into the ACC Championship, and it was good enough to take advantage when it got the opportunity.It’s Clemson. That’s not good enough.It continues to be the thing with Clemson in the new era – it has to come up with a few more parts to get back up to the elite or the elite level.Dabo Swinney is starting to dabble a wee bit in the transfer portal, but he’s going to do things like he’s going to do things. The team still needs more.
More playmakers, more NFL parts, more talent, and it showed at key points this season, late in the ACC Championship, and now in this that the talent is just a few hairs away from where it needs to be.When this was all rocking and rolling a few years ago, Clemson had the baddest defensive linemen going. In this? Texas ran for almost 300 yards. The offense lost Phil Mafah early on, but the ground game should’ve powered for more than 76 yards. It’s Clemson. It should be better.
3. Texas and Steve Sarkisian – YOU’RE TRYING TOO HARD.
It’s like Texas and Sarkisian can’t take YES for an answer.This isn’t the NFL. Even against teams like Clemson, no, you don’t have to mix it up. If something works you keep doing it. It really is okay to do the same things over and over and over again until it stops, and that included Quinn Ewers – who was a wee bit off – getting open receivers to throw to short-range. That includes running over and over and over again, which Texas did, but it could’ve done even more than the 48 times that got it through this.
And that includes not forcing Arch Manning into the game, especially on key fourth downs.Of course Manning is going to be great, and of course he’ll probably be better than Ewers, but you don’t take out your starting quarterback in tight games for some quirky formation and play call. Texas should’ve been up by 30+ and truly coasting in the second half, but it went conservative when it should’ve gone for it, went for it when it should’ve gone conservative, and a win is a win is a win.Texas won’t get away with that later on after it beats Arizona State. Fortunately for the Longhorns …
2. Jaydon Blue and Kelvin Banks Jr. saved Texas from Texas.
Just when it seemed like Texas was about to gag it away after Clemson went on a 14-0 run to pull within seven early in the fourth quarter, the momentum totally shifted.Quinn Ewers misfired on first down. On second down he handed it off to Jaydon Blue, a slightly healthier Kelvin Banks Jr. mashed his man, got on the move, got one more block in, and 77 yards later the Longhorns ended the scoring with over ten minutes to go.
That one play might have saved the game and the season, and it seemed so simple. Keep running your backs behind a top five overall draft pick, repeat.Blue finished with 146 yards and two scores on 14 carries, Quintrevion Wisner ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns, and …
1. Texas has GOT to figure out how to play a full 60 minutes.
Texas shouldn’t have a problem with Arizona State. The Longhorn run defense will load up on Cam Skattebo, Ewers and the offense will crank up the passing attack, and it should be all good to get to the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic vs the Oregon vs Ohio State winner …Maybe.
Again, Texas has a way of being too cute by half, and then taking that half and chopping it into 58 little bits. This hasn’t been a 60-minute full throttle team, and as it showed against Clemson, it has a way of not always bringing its best work to the field and …There’s speed, there’s talent, the lines are great, and the parts are in place to be in the mix for a national title. Everything else is nitpicking.It was a 14-point win over the ACC champion in the College Football Playoff. The Longhorns got the job done.
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