Tigers wrap up playoff berth
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Top-ranked Clemson emphatically claimed its spot in the College Football Playoff with a 38-3 victory over No. 7 Miami in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game Saturday night.
The Tigers (12-1) came in ranked atop the CFP and should remain that way after Sunday’s final poll after their decisive show left little doubt the defending national champions are looking to go back-toback.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said in the postgame celebration he hadn’t been to New Orleans since going with Alabama in 1992, the then-wide receiver part of that national title squad. This time, the Tigers as top seed get their pick of sites, and Swinney left no wiggle room about what he’ll choose.
“Get ready, Sugar Bowl,” he shouted. “Here we come.”
Kelly Bryant set a championship game record — and surpassed his friend and former teammate Deshaun Watson’s mark of 13 — by completing his first 15 passes and finished with 252 yards passing, including a 27-yard touchdown pass to Deon Cain on the way to Clemson’s third consecutive ACC crown.
“It’s just in our DNA. We’re built for moments like this,” said Bryant, named the game’s MVP.
Bryant had one of Clemson’s four rushing scores, and the defense made it stand up against a Miami team that has been spurred on to a rebound season by its bling-covered “Turnover Chain” — jewelry worn by any Miami player with a pick or a fumble.
Instead, it was the Tigers who won the turnover battle (three to one) and held Miami (10-2) to its fewest points and yards of the season to spoil the Hurricanes’ first appearance in the contest since the onetime powerhouse joined the league in 2004.
“Obviously, it didn’t go well at all,” Miami coach Mark Richt said. “It just shows they’re the class of our league, and they’re the measuring stick.”