House money: Clemson heading to Austin with nothing to lose

Clemson says it's 'us against the world.'

by Grayson Mann - Correspondent - Mon Dec 16 14:54:08 GMT-05:00 2024

CLEMSON - As Nolan Hauser’s ball sailed through the uprights, Barrett Carter had one thought on his mind: “What’s going on this whiteboard?”

He reflected on a moment in a meeting where Dabo Swinney said it was Clemson against the world.

Clearly, those words stuck with the senior linebacker. When the players rushed the field after Hauser’s kick, Carter rushed to a whiteboard, ready to tell anyone who would listen to his thoughts. It read, "US AGAINST THE WORLD."

Since the aftermath of the South Carolina loss, Clemson has been in a unique situation. When the score read a 21-point lead for Miami over Syracuse, it was fair to assume that a trip to the ACC Championship, let alone a spot in the playoffs, was no longer a reality. Fran Brown and Syracuse would change that postseason destiny.

The following Tuesday, Swinney was asked about what he may do for Brown for gifting Clemson such an opportunity. Well, he’s got a front-row seat for the National Championship parade.

Before the Tigers had even punched their ticket to the playoffs, there was a belief that if they found a way into the CFP.

There certainly has been quiet confidence in this group, making the most of the moment in front of them, which wasn’t always there to begin with. If you asked anyone on that roster if doubt crept in as SMU stormed back from a 31-14 deficit, your answer was an emphatic no on the confetti-filled field in Charlotte.

The Tigers have played with house money in the waning hours of that loss to the Gamecocks. Indeed, there was nothing to lose. Being the only three-loss team in the playoffs, and holding the 12th seed in the bracket, why wouldn't they?

Carter reflected on that mentality on Monday afternoon, as Clemson is slotted as a double-digit underdog to the Texas Longhorns Saturday (4 p.m./TNT-MAX).

Through it all, he looks at his message on the whiteboard, and loves the deck that his team has been dealt.

"Everyone likes to hate on Clemson for some reason,” Carter said. “We don’t get it. But it’s truly us against the world, and that’s how we like it."

Carter was asked if he had thought about whether Saturday may be his last game.

Not one bit. In fact, Carter informed the media of his plans on how the final stretch of his collegiate career will play out.

“My last game will be the National Championship.”

Carter isn’t the only one who has embraced the identity of Clemson playing spoiler in a bracket where nobody (outside maybe ESPN's Sam Acho) will take the Tigers in the National Championship.

Cade Klubnik feels like he’s embraced that underdog mindset for his entire career, ready to take on over 100,000 fans back home, who stand in the way of a trip to the quarterfinals.

Klubnik feels like that belief has been activated since the Georgia loss, where the team refused to point fingers, rather, embracing a belief it was a bump in the road to achieve their goals.

“I think we all just believe in each other,” Klubnik said. “We've come so close, and we just believe in each other and believe in everybody we have, and we're here now, and you can't win it if you're not in it, so let's, let's go finish the job.”

This group has carried an unwavering belief from the offseason workouts to the start of press conferences at the ACC Football Kickoff to Hauser’s kick sailing through the uprights.

Why stop now?

That kind of confidence is now Clemson’s greatest asset, and will undoubtedly occupy a seat on the team plane to Austin. The path to a national championship starts in front of 100,000 Longhorn fans.

If you ask Carter and Klubnik, they believe this group has what it takes to beat the odds that are stacked in front of them.

Clemson’s playing with house money, and they like the cards they’ve been dealt.