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Dabo Swinney, Steve Sarkisian give early preview of Clemson football vs Texas in CFP
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- Dabo Swinney, Steve Sarkisian give early preview of Clemson football vs Texas in CFP
CLEMSON — Dabo Swinney will return to Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium for only the third time when Clemson football faces Texas in the College Football Playoff.
The No. 12 seed Tigers (10-3) will face the No. 5 seed Longhorns (11-2) on Dec. 21 (4 p.m. ET, TNT) in Austin, Texas. The winner advances to play No. 4 seed Arizona State, the Big 12 champion, in the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Jan. 1 (1 p.m. ET, ESPN).
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Swinney's first visit was in February 2009 after Clemson hired him to be its coach to pick the brain of then-longtime Longhorns coach Mack Brown. Swinney's next trip was for a Texas high school playoff football game to watch future Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik . Now, Swinney returns again, hoping to win a playoff game after the Tigers earned a berth by stunning SMU on the final play in the ACC championship on Saturday.
"What a magical historic place to go play a football game," Swinney said Sunday. "I never played Texas, I've never played in that stadium, so I'm super excited about it."
Swinney hasn't had time for a deep dive about Texas, but he respects the job Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian has done. Texas made the CFP last year as a No. 3 seed when it was a four-team format. It returns this season in the 12-team tournament after joining the SEC and losing the championship game Saturday to Georgia.
The high-stakes playoff will be a homecoming for seven Clemson players who are from Texas, including Klubnik, freshman wide receiver Bryant Wesco Jr. and safety R.J. Mickens . The game will also be a reunion for Texas defensive back Andrew Mukuba , who transferred from Clemson last year after spending three seasons with the Tigers.
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"Andrew was a great player for us," Swinney said. "He did everything that was asked for him. He worked his butt off here. Certainly wished he had finished here."
MORE: Clemson vs. Texas tickets for College Football Playoff: Prices, how to buy
What Steve Sarkisian said about Clemson vs. Texas in CFP
Sarkisian remembered meeting Swinney for the first time at a high school basketball game in Alabama when Sarkisian was an assistant at Southern Cal, and Swinney was an assistant at Clemson. Now, both will face each other as coaches in the CFP.
"This is an exciting time for college football," Sarkisian said. "The fact 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 very exciting."
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Sarkisian called Clemson a "perennial College Football Playoff" team, thanks to it winning two national championships and multiple CFP appearances. Sarkisian also said he recruited Klubnik, who was a top quarterback prospect in the 2022 class, and was surprised when Klubnik chose Clemson over his hometown college team.
According to ESPN's analytics, Clemson has a 15.6% chance to beat Texas. That percentage is the lowest of any of the first-round CFP games.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football: Dabo Swinney, Texas' Steve Sarkisian preview CFP game
