Clemson football couldn’t string more wins together following its road trip, falling to SMU at Memorial Stadium by a score of 35-24.
Without starting quarterback Cade Klubnik, the Tigers, 3-4, 2-3 ACC, had trouble getting the offense going, trailing the entire game to knock the team out of any chance to make the ACC Championship or College Football Playoff.
In a rematch of the 2024 ACC Championship, the Tigers remained in striking distance throughout the contest. Backup quarterback Christopher Vizzina settled in and gave the team an opportunity. With the team down double digits at the 6:44 mark in the fourth quarter, Vizzina threw up a prayer on fourth-and-21 and found the arms of Tristan Smith for his first career touchdown for Clemson.
Clemson’s defense was unable to stop the clock, and the Mustangs added insurance to secure the win with a rushing touchdown from Chris Johnson Jr.
Vizzina came alive after a slow first quarter. The redshirt sophomore threw for 317 yards and three touchdowns in the loss, providing promising answers about Clemson’s future as the team’s starter.
SMU, 5-2, 3-0 ACC, and Clemson traded blows throughout the third and fourth quarters after the Mustangs went into the break with a 16-7 lead. The Tigers used a 62-yard pass from Vizzina to T.J. Moore to get within two of the Mustangs.
Moore made a spectacular catch to haul it in, using one hand to stretch out and make the play to keep the team in striking distance.
A drive later, the defense could not hold. SMU ran the ball heavily, finding the end zone from a 35-yard rush by Derrick McFall. Following that drive, the Mustangs scored again through the air to take a 12-point lead — the largest one of the game.
The team had a slow start in the first quarter, struggling to pick up yards throughout the first several drives to get going under Vizzina. However, in the first drive of the second quarter, the quarterback hit Moore for the first time for a 32-yard score.
SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings gave the Tigers a lifeline in the fourth quarter, throwing a deflected interception into the hands of Ricardo Jones. Clemson would score a drive later, but it struggled to get the third-down stops.
The Mustangs converted 7 of 17 on third down, converting a fourth down on the final drive of the game from a pass interference by safety Ronan Hanafin.
Clemson has now lost three of its four games at Memorial Stadium this season. For a place that was once notorious for opponents to struggle in, it’s been quite the opposite as of late.
The Tigers recorded only 35 total rushing yards during the game in contrast to SMU’s 139 on the ground.
Clemson will have the open date next week before hosting Duke at Memorial Stadium on Nov. 1.
