CLEMSON — If there is one program that embraces the role of underdog, it’s Clemson.

What better team to be the No. 12 seed in the first-year of the expanded College Football Playoff.

Going all the way back to its first bowl game in 1940, Clemson has thrived as the underdog. Frank Howard literally used it as the foundation of the program every time Little ole Clemson played one of the “Big Boys” in college football.

Think about it this way, no one thought those “country boys” from South Carolina were going to beat Boston College in the 1940 Cotton Bowl. Surely, they had no chance to knock off Miami in the 1951 Orange Bowl or even be on the same field with No. 1 LSU in the 1959 Sugar Bowl.

In the Danny Ford days, the Tigers were always the underdogs when they played the so-called “Big Boys.” No one gave Clemson a chance to beat Ohio State, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Penn State or Oklahoma.

But they did, and they did over and over again.

Dabo Swinney has had to play the same card during his time at Clemson. He even brought out the old ROY bus during the Tigers’ run to the 2018 National Championship. And let’s not forget “BYOG.”

During Clemson’s greatest run in history, it was still the underdog against the “Big Boys” of  Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Oklahoma. And guess what? The Tigers beat them all.

Being the underdog against No. 5 Texas is nothing new for Clemson. No one is giving them a chance against the Longhorns, and that is just the way Clemson likes it.

“They know. We are the 12th seed,” Swinney said smiling. “We are just happy to have a chance. We are in there. Anything can happen, so they know there are probably not going to be many people to give us an opportunity to win.”

But if they do, then Clemson will once again take down one of the “Big Boys” in College Football. It’s a role they have embraced at Clemson for almost 85 years now.

“So, that is there mentality. They believe in themselves and that is all that matters,” Swinney said.

The Tigers and Longhorns will meet for the first time on Saturday (4 p.m., TNT) at DK Royal Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.