The Texas Longhorns continue their historic 2024 salvo with their upcoming Clemson game. The Tigers will stalk into DKR Stadium on Saturday, December 21. This will be their first visit to Austin, Texas in the history of the program. This contest is more than just a playoff game. It is the ultimate chance for these coaches to show off their respective programs and what they’ve built them into today. These players are fighting for glory. The Texas Longhorns aren’t going to let this chance pass them by.
Historical Significance
This game is garnering some extra special excitement for college football fans. This is the first time the Texas Longhorns have ever done battle with Clemson. Not only is this their inaugural fight, but it has the added weight of being a playoff game. Now that the rankings are out, the pressure is on. No. 5 seed Texas is hosting No. 12 Clemson. This has been met with excitement, despite the swirling controversy around this year’s playoffs.
The fans aren’t the only ones thrilled with this matchup. Coach Steve Sarkisian has expressed his enthusiasm to see Texas challenge Clemson. He’s raring to go. It’s clear he’s both aware of the challenge and has great respect for their Coach. When asked about their opponents on a video conference with the media, Sark said the following:
“...a team [Clemson] who’s been a perennial college football playoff team, I think Coach Swinney has done a fantastic job at Clemson. You, you don’t win two national titles over a seventeen-year period, multiple appearances in the CFP, numerous ACC conference championships, so they’ve got a championship program…”
Present Day
These two football programs have seen significant progress since their respective coaches came onboard. On Texas’ side, they’ve come a long way since Sarkisian’s first season. The Texas Longhorns’ first foray into the SEC has been nothing short of remarkable. As far as Clemson is concerned, they have just captured the 2024 ACC Championship. They are a program with impressive championship accolades, making this a solid match between two titans.
Similar to Sark’s press conference, Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney had positive things to say.“...I think Sark’s done an amazing job. They’ve got a great roster, a very, very talented roster. They’ve got elite quarterback play, explosive players outside. This is a complete football team in every sense of the word.”
Without going too deeply into the specifics of what each team should expect, there’s growth. Both coaches have been growing and working on their programs. Now we’ll see two great football experiments come to fruition. Will Coach Sarkisian’s experiment pay off as it was meant to, all these years later? What better way to test out the Texas Longhorns than with a playoff clash?
Final Thoughts
It’s been a wild ride for the Texas Longhorns in 2024. Historical is a solid descriptor for both teams’ journeys and the first-round matchup. What both coaches have done with their programs is significant. The high praise is evident and well-deserved for/on both teams. Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney acknowledged, “They’re good enough to win the whole thing, and we’ll have our hands full for sure, but we’re excited to go compete.”
For Texas’ part, they are enjoying the hype but preparing just as intensely. These are the playoffs, after all. As Sark said immediately after his earlier quote, “…the fact that we’ve never played them, that Texas has never played Clemson in football – the first time will be in the inaugural 12 team College Football Playoff right here at DKR is pretty exciting.” Indeed, for college football fans -especially of the Texas Longhorns- what a time to be alive.
