AUSTIN, Texas – The College Football Playoff first-round tilt between Texas (12-2) and Clemson (10-4) was a first-of-its-kind match-up on several fronts.

When the Longhorns knocked the ACC champion Tigers out of the CFP bracket with a 38-24 victory at Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium, it marked the first match-up in history between the two programs.

The circumstances surrounding the game also added to the college football history books.

Texas was a double-digit favorite entering the first CFP game ever held on the Longhorns’ home turf as the league debuted its new 12-team CFP format.

“DKR is pretty special,” said Texas senior offensive lineman Hayden Conner. “We would have liked to have the bye, but getting another game at home is something to be grateful for.”

But, when it came time for kick-off, all of the storylines became less relevant, and the Clemson Tigers didn’t look like the underdog on their opening drive that they were made out to be.

Trailing by a score early, Texas responded with a well-balanced attack and poise on offense for a trio of unanswered touchdowns.

“They’ve proven to me time and time again that we do respond, and that’s why I said a couple weeks ago, I have no pause that we won’t respond,” said Texas football head coach Steve Sarkisian. “When we get knocked down, we get back up. I’m proud of them for that tonight.”

Texas ended the 2024 regular season with an average, at best, track record in the red zone. The Longhorns averaged 4.42 points per red zone trip this season — which was an area that needed improvement going into the postseason.

Saturday, converting in the red zone wasn’t an issue. Largely due to the explosive rushing attack Texas boasted. The Longhorns carried the rock for 292 yards, fueled by a get-right game for Jaydon Blue.

“One of the first bullet points I put up in this room was ‘Run to win,’” said Sarkisian. “We needed to run the football to win this game, and we’re going to need to run the football to advance in these playoffs. That’s what playoff football is about.”

Blue finished with 146 yards on the ground on 14 carries, and Quintrevion Wisner added 110 yards rushing on 15 attempts.

“I thought Quinn (Ewers) did a great job. On both Jaydon Blue’s touchdowns, those were audibles by Quinn,” said Sarkisian. “There’s a lot that goes into the run game. We always say the run game takes all 11, and all 11 did it tonight.”

The Longhorns’ passing game was also effective. Ewers was 17-of-24 for 202 yards through the air, including one touchdown and one interception. Senior tight end Gunnar Helm saw a majority of the targets, racking up 77 yards on six receptions and a touchdown catch.

Defensively, after the Tigers scored on their opening drive, the Longhorns didn’t allow more than one first down on Clemson’s next four drives.

After building a 21-7 lead midway through the 2nd quarter, the drives exchanged went as follows: Clemson interception, Texas turnover on downs, Clemson punt, Texas interception.

The Tigers saw a shift of momentum in their favor after the Longhorns failed to convert on fourth down inside the Clemson 20-yard line with 4:20 left in the first half.

However, Texas would find pay dirt on a swift seven-play, 65-yard scoring drive to lead 28-10 at halftime.

“Cade (Klubnik) is a tremendous quarterback. We all knew that. I specifically knew that,” said Texas senior defensive back Michael Taaffe — who played high school football with Klubnik. “What he can do with his legs, what he can do with his arm. Everybody, it seemed like, on their offense was on the same page. Definitely made our job really hard, but I’m so glad that we had that opportunity now to see, all right, let’s get better from this. Let’s see what we can do moving forward as far as upping the good of what we’re doing and fixing the bad.”

In the second half, Clemson pieced together back-to-back scoring drives and kept themselves in the game until the very end.

With Clemson humming, down 14 points in the 4th quarter, Texas prevented two of Clemson’s fourth-down attempts to hold on for the win.

The first fourth-down attempt was at the Texas 1-yard line, where the Longhorns’ defense had a key goal-line stand. On the second attempt, Taaffe laid out a punishing hit in the open field that ultimately secured the win.

“I was so torn because I wanted to get out there again and try to make a play, but then again, when your offense gets 1st downs, and they keep burning the clock, it’s like, all right, we won the game,” said Taaffe. “But then, at the end of the day, we got another opportunity.

It’s our job as a defense to hold our standard and not let anybody get in our paint… Somebody had to make a play. I knew that it was time to make a play, and I just made the play that came to me.”

Texas will next face Big 12 champion Arizona State in the Peach Bowl set for New Year’s Day.

“I haven’t looked at the scouting report yet on Arizona State,” said Taaffe. “I can’t wait to do it. Obviously a great challenge. When you get a bye week and this type of platform, this type of college football platform, that obviously shows a testament to how good you are as a team. We’re going to have a really good opponent, and we’re going to respect our opponent. We’re going to get ready for the challenge.”