3 crucial moments from Clemson's CFB regular season that changed the course of its playoff journey

Dabo Swinney and Clemson made their return to the College Football Playoff this season after a four-year hiatus. The program's seventh appearance was far from a sure thing, however.

The Tigers faced a few bumps in the road, had some help and were in must-win situations. There were three moments that propelled the Tigers into the postseason, though, and one of them might raise eyebrows.

ACC crown buys Clemson ticket to the dance

The four highest-ranked conference champions earn admission into the new 12-team College Football Playoff format. The Tigers knew how important it would be to depart from Charlotte, North Carolina, with a win over SMU, especially saddled with three setbacks already.

Junior quarterback Cade Klubnik cried for over an hour in his car after the third of those defeats, a 17-14 loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks the week before. There weren't any tears as Klubnik passed for 262 yards and four touchdowns, then Nolan Hauser nailed a 56-yard field goal as time expired to down then-No.8 SMU 34-31.

"It's like when you are playing outside with some of your friends and your mom tells you that you have to come inside, but then she decides, 'Well, I will give you five more minutes,'" Klubnik said afterward. "We got five more minutes to play football – and that's how we viewed tonight."

The win marked eight ACC titles in 10 tries for the Tigers. More importantly, it sent them to a first-round playoff clash at Texas.

Clemson learns what it takes in season-opening loss

Up against a program ranked No. 1 and that had won two of the past three College Football Playoff crowns, Clemson had quite the lid lifter. The Tigers, who'd lost four times in 2023, at once learned the level at which they needed to perform to have a chance at the postseason.

Then-No. 14 Clemson was outclassed 34-3 against Georgia in the Aflac Kickoff Game in Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Hauser's 26-yard field goal provided the Tigers' only points. They were limited to all of 188 yards.

Swinney took the defeat on the chin but acknowledged there was a lot of time left for his group to get it together.

"It's a long season ahead," Swinney said after that game. "I do think we've got the right people in the room. But when you play a team like Georgia, you can get exposed. ... We got our butts kicked."

Clemson responded to the drubbing by beating Appalachian State by 46 at home the next week. The Tigers then began conference play with a 5-0 mark, downing North Carolina State, Stanford, Florida State, Wake Forest and Virginia by an average of 23.6 points.

Clemson QB Klubnik runs away with win to finish conference play

Had Clemson fallen short in a road game at Pitt on Nov. 16, the Tigers' ACC championship hopes and, in turn, College Football Playoff goal would've been laid to rest at the Panthers' place.

Instead, down late in the 24-20 win, Cade Klubnik took to the ground. Initially, he had designs on getting to the boundary, but the junior passer didn't have to. On the designed scamper, Klubnik found himself on the second level, and a T.J. Moore block helped usher Klubnik to the end zone for a 50-yard touchdown. With only 1:16 to go, Pitt couldn't claw back.

"It doesn't feel real in a moment like that," Klubnik said after. "You're just like, 'Oh, my gosh. I'm loose.' Those last 15-20 yards was a crazy feeling for sure."

With that win, which pushed it to 4-0 in true road tests, Clemson just needed Miami to lose one of its last two outings. Syracuse helped with that.