The No. 8 Mustangs (11-1) and No. 17 Tigers (9-3) meet for the first time, in the ACC championship game. SMU went 8-0 in-conference in its first ACC campaign. Clemson plays in its 10th ACC final, losing in 2009 and winning eight from 2011 to 2022.
No. 6 Penn State faces No. 11 SMU in a CFP first-round matchup. The schools met twice before, a 13-13 tie in the 1947 Cotton Bowl and a Penn State home victory in 1978. The winner faces No. 3 Boise State in the quarterfinals on New Year's Eve.
The No. 8 Mustangs (11-1) and No. 17 Tigers (9-3) meet for the first time, in the ACC championship game. SMU went 8-0 in-conference in its first ACC campaign. Clemson plays in its 10th ACC final, losing in 2009 and winning eight from 2011 to 2022.