CLEMSON – It is game day in Death Valley where Clemson looks to defeat SMU in a rematch of last year’s ACC Championship game.
The Tigers hope to continue the momentum and win their third game in a row.
Location: Memorial Stadium (Death Valley)
Kickoff: 3:30 PM
Television: ACC Network
Announcers: Wes Durham, Steve Addazio, Dana Boyle
2025 Record: Clemson 3-3, SMU 4-2
ACC Record: Clemson 2-2, SMU 2-0
Series History: Clemson leads series 1-0
Last Meeting: Clemson defeated SMU 34-31 on December 7, 2024
After earning road wins at North Carolina and Boston College over the last two weeks, Clemson will return to Death Valley on Saturday, Oct. 18 when the Tigers host the SMU Mustangs. Kickoff for SMU’s first visit to Memorial Stadium in Clemson is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network.
Saturday’s game will be a rematch of a classic the teams contested in the 2024 ACC Championship Game in Charlotte. In that game, Clemson raced out to touchdowns on each of its first three drives and carried a 24-7 lead into halftime. A furious comeback by SMU tied the game at 31-31 with 16 seconds remaining, but a 41-yard kickoff return by Adam Randall and a 17
yard pass from Cade Klubnik to Antonio Williams set up Clemson’s 56-yard walk-off field goal by Nolan Hauser.
Clemson has made 10 ACC Championship Game appearances, going 9-1 in those games. Prior to this Saturday’s rematch with SMU, Clemson has played a rematch of those ACC Championship Games the following year five times. Clemson is 4-1 in those rematches including regular-season wins against Virginia Tech in 2012 and 2017, Virginia in 2020 and North Carolina in
2023.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS WEEK
– Clemson playing 17 years to the date after Dabo Swinney’s first game as head coach, a 21-17 home loss to Georgia Tech on Oct. 18, 2008.
– Clemson attempting to improve to 2-0 all-time against SMU.- Clemson and SMU meeting in a matchup of the two teams with the most wins against ACC opponents since SMU’s addition to the conference prior to the 2024
season (10 each, including postseason play).
– Clemson attempting to win the first regular season meeting between the two programs. The game will also be the first on-campus game contested between the programs.
– Clemson attempting to win the first two games of a series with an opponent for the 30th time in program history. With a Clemson victory, SMU would become the 11th program currently in a power conference to start
0-2 in a series with Clemson all-time (Alabama, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Missouri, NC State, Ohio State, Stanford, Virginia and Wake Forest).
– Clemson attempting to hand SMU its first ACC loss of the season for the second time in SMU’s two seasons of ACC membership. SMU is 0-1 against Clemson but 10-0 against all other ACC foes since joining the conference.
– Clemson playing a rematch of the prior year’s ACC Championship Game for the sixth time after Clemson’s 10 appearances, including occurrences against Georgia Tech (2009 title game/2010 season), Virginia Tech (2011/2012 & 2016/2017), Virginia (2019/2020) and North Carolina (2022/2023). Clemson is 4-1 in those regular season rematches from the previous year’s title game, with the lone loss coming to Georgia Tech in 2010.
– Clemson playing its lone home game in the month of October. The 2025 campaign marks the second straight season that Clemson has had only one October home game.
BREAST CANCER AWARENESS GAME
This week’s contest has been designated as Clemson’s Breast Cancer Awareness game.
Since its inception, breast cancer prevention and research has been one of the core focus areas of Dabo’s All In Team Foundation. Breast cancer has impacted the Swinney family personally, as Dabo Swinney’s wife, Kathleen, lost her sister, Lisa Lamb, to breast cancer at the age of 49 in 2014.
Over the years, the foundation has donated more than $2.5 million to local hospitals, research teams and organizations focused on breast cancer prevention, research, technology and early detection. Last July, the 2025 Dabo Swinney Ladies Clinic welcomed more than 1,100 participants and raised $250,000 for the cause.
CLEMSON WELCOMES YOU TO DEATH VALLEY
When SMU makes its Death Valley debut on Saturday, the Mustangs will become the 65th different opponent Clemson has faced at Memorial Stadium since the facility opened in 1942.
Clemson is 48-15-1 all-time against opponents making their Death Valley debut. That includes a 12-2 record for the Tigers during Dabo Swinney’s head coaching tenure.
TCI Predictions
Robert – Clemson 24, SMU 20 (with or without Cade)
Will – SMU 27, Clemson 20 (if Cade doesn’t play)
JP – SMU 26, Clemson 13 (if Cade doesn’t play)