College Football Playoff: How a 16-team bracket would play out

2. Clemson Tigers vs. 15. Texas Longhorns

Early on in the 2018 regular season, Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney was faced with an incredibly difficult decision pertaining to the quarterback position. On one hand, he could have named Kelly Bryant, who led the Tigers to the College Football Playoff last season, the starter. On the other hand, true freshman Trevor Lawrence was pushing the incumbent starter in every way possible, trying to stake his claim for the job as well.

Lawrence ultimately earned the job, however, and the Tigers haven’t looked back. It appeared in those early-season games that the Clemson offense had a higher upside with the youngster at the helm of that unit and that has turned out to be the case. Now, not only does Swinney have an elite defense at his disposal, but also an offense that can pour it on.

In a matchup with the Texas Longhorns, that’s bad news for Tom Herman’s team. There have seemingly been several iterations of Texas this season as this team has been all over the map in terms of the quality of their performance. One thing that is for sure, however, is that their defense is average and that their offense has been playing much worse of late than they were earlier in the season.

Going up against Clemson, that’s a recipe for a disaster. Whether it would be Lawrence or Travis Etienne, the Tigers would have no trouble moving the ball, while they would also give Sam Ehlinger a rough day at the office in a resounding victory.

Prediction: Clemson 45, Texas 17