No. 9 Clemson won’t be in contention for the national title this season, but they’ve regained conference hegemony, beating No. 23 North Carolina 39-10 in the ACC Championship Game to earn an Orange Bowl spot. The win was his seventh ACC crown in the last eight seasons for the Tigers and did a little penance for Dabo his Sweeney program after failing to win his game for the league title for the first time since 2014 last season. bring.
North Carolina led 7-0 early, but quickly closed the gap when Clemson turned to freshman quarterback Cade Krabnik on the third possession. Junior starter DJ Uiagalelei proved ineffective, so Klubnik came in and quickly reversed the momentum in favor of the Tigers by directing a 71-yard touchdown drive. A former five-star prospect and likely Wiagalerei successor, he completed 20 of 24 passes for 279 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions for 30 yards and a score. remained on the field until third-string quarterback Hunter Johnson entered the fourth quarter unruly.
Crabnik’s counterpart Drake May of North Carolina led the Tar Heels into the red zone five times, but those trips scored just 10 points.Fumbles and blocked field goal attempts. hampered the Tar Heels in the first half, and costly interceptions ruined their chances in the third quarter.
With the Tar Heels trailing just 24-10, May threw an inept third-down pass that was intercepted by Clemson’s Nate Wiggins and returned 98 yards for a touchdown with 5:05 left in the third quarter. The play dashed UNC’s hopes of rallying and gave the Tar Heels their third consecutive loss. The 9-4 North Carolina State could reach his double-digit wins for the second time since 1997 if he wins his game in the bowl.
Clemson has already won 12 straight seasons in double digits under Swinney, and a win in the Orange Bowl would give them a 12-2 finish.Tennessee is Expected Opponent for the game set for December 30th in Miami. With such a strong victory in his game of the ACC Championship, Clemson would have been in perfect shape for the college football playoffs if he hadn’t lost to South Carolina last week. If it weren’t for the loss to the Gamecocks, which marked Clemson’s first home loss since 2016, the Tigers would have benefited greatly from losses to No. 3 TCU and No. 4 USC this weekend.
But a league title and New Year’s Six Bowl appearance has been met with derision, especially after the program lost longtime coordinators Tony Elliott (Virginia) and Brent Venables (Oklahoma) for head coaching gigs after the 2021 season. It is not intended to
