Nationally ranked #16 Clemson backed their way into the College Football Playoff by winning the ACC Championship over SMU.
The 2024 College Football Playoff first round will take place at 3 p.m. CT on Saturday, December 21st, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Number 3 Texas Football, the fifth seed, will host Number 16 Clemson, the 12th seed.
In the Texas versus Clemson matchup, FanDuel Sportsbook has updated the lines, indicating that Texas is favored by 10.5 points.
College Football Playoff

Texas will make its second consecutive appearance in the College Football Playoff this year. They earned the third seed in the 2023 playoff faced the Washington Huskies in the Allstate Sugar Bowl semifinal last year.
The Longhorns have maintained a top-10 ranking in the CFP for the past 11 weeks, starting from October 31, 2023. They debuted at number five in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season, their highest initial ranking in program history. Texas has been ranked in the top-25 for the past 15 weeks and has appeared in the rankings a total of 27 times, with their highest College Football Playoff ranking being number two.

On December 21st, Texas and Clemson will face each other for the first time ever. The team that wins the first round will move on to the CFP Quarterfinal, which will take place at the 57th Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. They will go up against Arizona State, the Big 12 Champion and No. 4 seed, at Noon C.T. on January 1, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The game will be broadcast on ABC/ESPN.
As to ACC versus SEC opponents in 2024, on rivalry day, November 30th, SEC teams owned their ACC rivals. Georgia beat Georgia Tech of the ACC in 8 overtimes. South Carolina beat Clemson in the Palmetto Bowl. Florida crushed Florida State. Only Louisville of the ACC was able to beat its SEC opponent Kentucky in 2024 on rivalry day.