Jaydon Blue ended Clemson’s hopes of a comeback Saturday.

The Texas running back sprinted for a 77-yard touchdown with 10:48 left, giving Texas a two-TD lead in the No. 5 Longhorns’ 38-24 win over No. 12 Clemson.

The Tigers had gotten within seven with 11:43 left when Cade Klubnik found a wide-open TJ Moore in the end zone on fourth down. It was the second straight Clemson score as Texas held a 21-point lead with 8:10 left in the third.

But two plays after Klubnik’s TD pass, Blue’s sprint into the end zone caused the entire Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium to exhale.

Blue’s run didn’t come out of nowhere. Clemson struggled to contain the Texas running game all day while the Longhorns were focused on moving the ball on the ground. Texas averaged more than six yards per carry and rushed 46 times for 295 yards before the game ended in final squats.

After Blue’s TD, Clemson drove down the field and was close to another TD to cut the deficit to a single touchdown. But the Texas defense stuffed Clemson on consecutive runs at the 1-yard line and forced a turnover on downs.

From then on, Texas used most of the time to officially extinguish any hopes of a Clemson comeback.

Had the Tigers somehow recovered, it would have been the greatest comeback in College Football Playoff history. Instead, the record still stands at 17, as Georgia overcame that deficit in its epic Rose Bowl victory over Oklahoma in 2018.

Texas faces Arizona State

The win means Texas advances to the Peach Bowl and will face No. 4 Arizona State in the quarterfinals. The Sun Devils secured the final bye in the field by winning the Big 12 and finishing ahead of Clemson in the final set of the CFP standings.

Texas’ victory also came at a price. Texas got star LT Kelvin Banks Jr. back after he went down, but lost Cam Williams and Jake Majors along the offensive line during the game. Williams was injured on a screen pass in the second quarter and Majors was injured on a blindside block after a Clemson interception. None of the players were able to finish the game after their injuries.

While Texas threw the ball over 40 times, Quinn Ewers only threw it 24 times. Ewers was 17 of 24 passing for 202 yards and a TD. The aforementioned interception wasn’t his fault. It bounced from Matthew Golden’s hands into the arms of Clemson’s RJ Mickens.

Blue finished the game with 14 carries for 146 yards and two touchdowns, while Quintrevion Wisner had 15 carries for 110 yards and two scores.

Cade Klubnik’s return to Austin

Klubnik grew up in Austin and attended Austin Westlake High School. His team defeated Southlake Carroll for the 2020 Texas 6A Division I state title. The QB for Southlake Carroll? Quinn Ewers.

Klubnik led Clemson on an opening TD drive and played a great game even though Clemson couldn’t find a run game. With Phil Mafah limited by a shoulder injury, Clemson rushed just 24 times for 76 yards. That number includes a 41-yard run by Adam Randall. Without that, the Tigers had 23 carries for just 35 yards.

Klubnik himself was suffocated on the ground, but managed to score through the air. He was 26 of 43 passing for 336 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.