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Nolan Hauser becomes a Clemson football legend, more overreactions vs SMU in ACC championship
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- Nolan Hauser becomes a Clemson football legend, more overreactions vs SMU in ACC championship
CHARLOTTE — No. 17 Clemson football is going to the CFP for the first time since 2020 after defeating No. 7 SMU 34-31 on Saturday at Bank of America Stadium.
Freshman kicker Nolan Hauser made a 56-yard field goal, an ACC Championship game record, on the final play of the game to help the Clemson (10-3) win the conference for the first time since 2022. Adam Randall returned a kickoff 41 yards, and quarterback Cade Klubnik followed with a 17-yard pass to Antonio Williams to set up Hauser's clutch kick.
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Here are three overreactions from the Tigers' thrilling win:
Nolan Hauser etched himself into Clemson football 's history with clutch kick
Hauser, who attended high school north of Charlotte, will remember this game for the rest of his life. He missed a 44-yard field goal in the second quarter but responded to make a 44-yarder later in the quarter.
Hauser, who holds the national high school record for career field goals (66), entered the game confidently with three seconds remaining and knocked down the long field goal. Clemson struggled with field-goal protection all season, allowing six field goal attempts and one point-after-attempt to be blocked. All of those errors were washed away as Hauser's kick made it past the crossbar to send Clemson to the CFP.
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HOW THE GAME WENT: Clemson vs SMU live score updates, highlights, how to watch ACC Championship Game
Clemson's Bryant Wesco Jr. will become household name in college football
America witnessed the arrival of freshman wide receiver Bryant Wesco Jr. Clemson fans knew about the highly touted recruit from Texas , but many across the country got to witness his brilliance. Wesco Jr. had a career-high in touchdowns (two), receiving yards (143) and receptions (eight).
Wesco helped Clemson build an early lead with touchdowns of 35 and a 43 yards in the first quarter. He was a matchup nightmare for SMU 's defense, finding holes in its zones and winning his one-on-one matchup to get open. He and freshman T.J. Moore are the future of Clemson's receiving corps that will put fear into opposing teams for at least two more seasons.
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T.J. Parker continues historic season for Clemson's football
Parker, a sophomore defensive lineman, was a terror Saturday, recording eight tackles (3.5 for loss), one sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He sniffed out multiple trick plays SMU ran and maintained the edge against its mobile quarterback, Kevin Jennings.
Parker has forced a fumble in four of his past five games to increase his 2024 total to six, which set a single-season school record, surpassing Brandon Maye's 2009 record. Parker has been Clemson's best pass rusher and saved one of his most impactful games for the ACC championship.
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 ends three-year CFP drought with ACC championship win
