Texas football picked up its first College Football Playoff win in program history on Saturday afternoon, downing the Clemson Tigers 38-24.
The Clemson offense, led by Austinite Cade Klubnik, had one of the season's more successful outings against the Longhorn defense. Klubnik finished with 336 yards passing and three touchdowns. It was the first time all season the Texas defense gave up more than 211 yards all season.
However, the Texas offense responded to any punch the ACC Champions threw.
Paced by the ground game, Texas football finished with 494 total yards on 6.9 yards per play. Head coach Steve Sarkisian returned to his principles of running the football, which paid major dividends.
The two-headed backfield monster of Quintrevion Wisner and Jaydon Blue combined for 256 yards and four scores on the ground. Blue's 77-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter after the Tigers pulled within a score proved to be the dagger.
If Texas wants to make a deep run in the College Football Playoff, they must continue to get strong performances from the rushing attack, something Coach Sarkisian continuously harps on.
Although the Texas defense was not at its best, but they stepped up when it mattered most. The defensive line bowed on two plays inside the two-yard line as Clemson looked to cut into the lead with eight minutes to go in the game.
It was far from a perfect game for the Longhorns, but the No. 5 seed did enough to punch their ticket in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. The Big 12 Champion Arizona State Sun Devils await.
Steve Sarkisian speaks on Texas football's College Football Playoff win over Clemson
Here is everything Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said after the win.
On the win:
"What an environment for college football this was. From the moment we pulled up on the buses for our Bevo walk, you could feel the energy. The crowd was tremendous. Great atmosphere. I think college football got this one right."
"The story of the game, I think, obviously is us finding the run game offensively."
On the offense:
"One of the first bullet points I put up in this room was run to win. We needed to run the football to win this game. We need to run the football to advance in these playoffs."
"We really challenged them in the run game."
"The run game is important for us on a lot of levels. Our offense is better when we can run it."
"Naturally, when we can run it effectively, teams have to prepare for a lot when they have to play us."
Said both Jaydon Blue touchdown runs were audibles called by Quinn Ewers.
On Jaydon Blue: "Gave him a big hug and just told him how proud I was of him."
On 4/5 red zone effort: "I think we got better, but I do think we can continue to improve."
On the defense:
On the 4th down stop: "It was typical of who we are. We've got big people. They know how to play a physical brand of football."
"If it's one-on-one and we fit everything right, I always feel good about us making those critical stops in those critical moments."
"At the end of the day, when our backs were against the wall, what a stand from our one-yard-line to get the stop."
On Michael Taaffe: "Sometimes you have the most fun competing against those that are closest to you."
On the injuries:
Tre Wisner "banged his knee" but was available to come back in if needed.
Jake Majors was available to come back in if needed.
Cam Williams "injured his knee. Tried to go. We'll get an MRI here this evening and see where he's at."