Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney experienced a flurry of notifications on his phone following the revelation that the Tigers would compete for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship, despite their recent defeat against a state rival. The excitement peaked with a FaceTime call from Syracuse’s head coach, Fran Brown, whose team had triumphed over Miami, paving the way for Clemson, ranked 18th, to face 8th-ranked SMU for the ACC title and potential entry into the 12-team College Football Playoff.

“That was unprecedented… I’ll certainly reflect on that in my memoir someday,” Swinney shared on a Zoom call with the media about Brown’s call. When asked for details of their conversation, he responded, “I can’t fully disclose what he said; it was quite colorful and truly entertaining.” He expressed gratitude for Brown’s enthusiastic support, noting he had no idea that Brown had given him a shoutout on live television after Syracuse’s win. “I had so many messages from people about that,” he added.

After the Orange’s victory over Miami with a score of 42-38, Brown directly addressed the cameras, saying, “Hey, Dabo Swinney, congrats. I got you in, baby.” This message came just a few hours after Clemson suffered a 17-14 loss against South Carolina in their regular-season finale, which caused the SEC opponent to rise to 13th place in the latest Associated Press poll.

SMU, which is new to the ACC, has secured its place in the title game, concluding its first season in the league with an impressive 38-6 victory over California. Their game ended around the same time Miami faltered, setting the stage for the matchup against the Tigers.

Clemson must clinch the ACC championship title in Charlotte, North Carolina, to qualify for the expanded College Football Playoff for the seventh time. Only Alabama has appeared in this postseason event more frequently, having qualified eight times since its inception ten years ago.

SMU is the lone team to finish the ACC regular season undefeated, with their only loss coming in a season-opening game against 17th-ranked BYU, a team with ten wins in the Big 12. While winning the championship game is essential, coach Rhett Lashlee believes his team’s current accomplishments may be sufficient for them to earn a spot in the playoff field.

“I don’t think I need to induce any lobbying; I’m uncertain if it would have any effect. Nonetheless, I hope the committee values our overall performance,” Lashlee expressed on Sunday. “Honestly, there are only two Power Four teams that have completed an undefeated conference schedule: us and Oregon, the top-ranked team. That should carry weight,” he added, advocating for his team’s inclusion among the top twelve teams nationally. Last season, the Mustangs also won the American Athletic Conference championship, finishing league play undefeated before moving up to the power conference this year.

Swinney concurs with the sentiment that SMU deserves a playoff spot regardless of the outcome of the ACC championship clash. “They’ve certainly earned that recognition. I don’t believe they should be penalized based on this game’s result,” he commented. “The reality is that they are an 11-1 football team, and they’ve performed exceptionally well.”