No. 5 Texas is moving on in the College Football Playoff but the Longhorns got a bigger scare than expected from No. 12 Clemson.
The Longhorns used a dominant running game and the precision passing of Quinn Ewers to take a comfortable lead in the second half before the Tigers rallied. A long touchdown run by Jaydon Blue and a fourth-and-goal stop righted things as the Longhorns prevailed 38-24.
The Longhorns offense put up 292 yards on the ground with Blue leading the way with 146 yards and two touchdowns. Quintrevion Wisner added 110 yards on 15 carries with two rushing scores. Ewers completed 17 of 24 passes for 202 yards and one touchdown.
Texas advances to face No. 4 seed Arizona State in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 1.
The Longhorns were ahead 31-10 in the third quarter, but Clemson quarterback Cade Klubik responded by throwing for two touchdowns, the second with 11 minutes remaining, to make things interesting. But Blue ran 77 yards for a score two plays later to restore the lead to 14. Texas effectively preserved the win by dropping Keith Adams Jr. for a 1-yard loss from the 1 on fourth down.
The win was the first in the CFP for the Longhorns, who lost in last year’s semifinals to Washington in the Sugar Bowl. This year’s team lost twice in the regular season. Both were decisions to Georgia — the first convincingly at home and the second in overtime of the SEC championship.
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Clemson received the opening kickoff and opened with a 12-play, 75-yard drive that mixed short passes and runs by Klubnik. It ended with Klubnik finding Antonio Williams for a 22-yard scoring pass.
Texas answered immediately with its own 12-play touchdown drive, converting a fourth down inside the Clemson 10 before Wisner found the end zone on a 3-yard run on the ensuing play. On their second possession, Blue would run 38 yards for another touchdown to give the Longhorns their first lead, and Wisner added a 16-yard scoring run midway through the second quarter to put them in control.
The lead for Texas was 28-10 at halftime after Ewers hit Gunner Helm for a 19-yard touchdowns with 28 seconds left in the second quarter. The Longhorns outgained Clemson 289-182 before the break. The 28 points were the most allowed by the Tigers in the first half this season.
Clemson’s three-year absence from the playoff ended when Miami lost in its final regular-season game to Syracuse, sending the Tigers to the ACC title game, and Clemson then defeated SMU with a 56-yard field goal on the final play to earn one of the five spots given to the highest-rated conference champions.
Klubnik finished 26 of 43 for 336 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.