No. 1 Clemson celebrates playoff selection with pizza party

Clemson had a very big pizza party to celebrate winning the ACC and making the College Football Playoff!

Only this time, the stakes are immeasurably higher than they were at this time a year ago.

Now that Clemson is the top seed in the college football playoff, you’ll be hearing Tigers coach Dabo Swinney’s name even more often in the coming weeks.

Clemson outscored opponents 500-263 this season, and though the Tigers were tested at times they never trailed in a fourth quarter.

In other bowl news, Ohio State, last year’s national champion, will not get an opportunity to defend its title and also missed out on a chance to play in the Rose Bowl, but the Buckeyes will still play in a game that will attract a lot of attention as they will face Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. Right now, Swinney said it was all about celebrating the season his Tigers had.

After clinching the ACC Championship Saturday night by beating North Carolina 45-37 in Charlotte, Clemson has won 13 games for the first time in school history.

“You can tell when the team came out, this place, the roof blew off”, said Joey Campbell.

But no team has been to the Orange Bowl more than Oklahoma.

“I don’t think any of it is about getting teams back”, Oklahoma cornerback Zack Sanchez said, when asked about the rematch with Clemson. “I’m 100 percent sure they’ll win (the national championship) because they’ll find a way to do it and they have Superman at quarterback”.

Oklahoma fell one spot in the final CFP rankings from No. 3 to No. 4, leapfrogged by Big Ten champion Michigan State.

The Tigers (13-0), seeking their first national title since 1981, will face No. 4 Oklahoma (11-1) on December 31 in a CFP semifinal in the Orange Bowl. The players were allowed to sleep in for the announcement.

Perhaps the biggest debate was Michigan State finishing ahead of Oklahoma.

In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where the Tide is preparing for a second straight playoff appearance, it was just another Sunday.

Thousands of Clemson football fans showed up at Memorial Stadium Sunday to eat free pizza and watch as the top-ranked Tigers drew Oklahoma for their first college playoff semifinal at the Orange Bowl Dec. 31 in Miami.

The party at Death Valley was unlike anything fans said they had ever seen.