ACC Championship Game 2024: Early Preview, Predictions for Clemson vs. SMU
One of the ACC's new faces will take on its most established program of the last decade in the 2024 ACC Championship Game.
The SMU Mustangs will try to win their second conference championship in a row across two different leagues on Saturday in Charlotte.
Rhett Lashlee's team captured the American Athletic Conference crown before its move to the ACC this season.
Dabo Swinney's Clemson Tigers are making their 10th ACC Championship Game appearance.
Clemson is 8-1 in its ACC title game history and it absolutely needs to move that record to 9-1 to have a shot of qualifying for the College Football Playoff.
Clemson Fighting for Playoff Life
Clemson needs to earn the ACC's automatic bid into the CFB Playoff to participate in the 12-team event.
The Tigers suffered their third loss of the season on Saturday in a rivalry clash with the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Clemson was stifled by the two best teams on its schedule, South Carolina and the Georgia Bulldogs, and there is concern that it will not be able to compete with another top-15 team in SMU.
Cade Klubnik and the Clemson offense managed just 17 total points against Georgia and South Carolina, who were the only two ranked foes on the Tigers' schedule.
At their best, the Tigers have an offense, led by Klubnik at quarterback and running back Phil Mafah, that can run with the best of teams, but that potential has only been reached against unranked foes.
A loss to SMU would end a run of eight straight ACC Championship Game appearances with a win for the Tigers, whose only loss in the conference title game came back in 2009.
SMU Going for 2nd Conference Title in 2 Years
SMU will try to pull off a feat only allowed to happen in the new era of college football.
The Mustangs are going after their second straight conference title across two leagues. They beat the Tulane Green Wave to capture the AAC crown in 2023.
SMU's been in control of its schedule even since an early-season slip-up against the BYU Cougars.
Rhett Lashlee's team is on a nine-game winning streak, and in the last two weeks, its defense has been the star of the show.
SMU held the Virginia Cavaliers and California Golden Bears to 13 combined points. They were SMU's two lowest point concessions against FBS opposition this season.
If the defense plays like that to complement an offense that regularly puts up 30 points per game, the Mustangs will not just win the ACC, but also add themselves into the national title conversation.
Prediction
SMU 34, Clemson 17
SMU was a well-oiled machine throughout ACC play.
The Mustangs went 8-0 in conference games and scored over 30 points in seven of those eight contests.
Six of those eight league wins came by double digits, including all four wins in November.
Clemson's struggles against its ranked opponents is a huge sign for concern about its abilities to compete with SMU.
The winner will get the ACC's automatic bid into the playoff, and if SMU wins, there's a chance the ACC is a one-bid league.