Ahead of Texas' first ever matchup with Clemson, Pete Kwiatkowski prepares for a familiar foe
Though Texas and Clemson have never met on the football field, there is a smidgen of familiarity among the coaching staffs for the Longhorns and the Tigers.
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Back in 2022, Clemson offensive coordinator Garrett Riley was calling plays for Sonny Dykes‘ TCU Horned Frogs. Spearheaded by Big 12 offensive player of the year Max Duggan, TCU went went to the four-team College Football Playoff, defeated Michigan, and made it to the national championship game before falling to Georgia.
On the way to the finals, TCU scraped by Texas during a primetime game in Austin. The Horned Frogs won 17-10 in a game where Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski bottled up a TCU offense that averaged 38.8 points per game. The Longhorns’ only touchdown of the game was via a Jahdae Barron fumble recovery.
Kwiatkowski was much maligned in his first year as Texas’ defensive coordinator, and the performance his defense provided against one of the best teams in college football in 2022 helped to dispel some of the lingering concerns about his standing as the Longhorns’ defensive play-caller.
Riley, the brother of USC offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley, comes from the Air Raid offensive philosophy. Garrett coached with Lincoln at East Carolina prior to when Bob Stoops‘ plucked his future replacement from Greenville, N.C.
That’s a style of offense Kwiatkowski stifled regularly while at Washington when he had annual battles with the late Mike Leach, and it’s an offense Texas is familiar with from its time as members of the Big 12.
Back in 2022, Kwiatkowski limited TCU to regular season lows in points and total offense in Texas’ 17-10 loss. Duggan was a paltry 19-for-29 for 124 yards, good for 4.3 yards per attempt. His lone passing score occurred on a busted coverage when he found Quentin Johnston for a 22-yarder that made it 17-3. TCU rushed for 159 yards, but netted 75 of those yards on a score from Kendre Miller when Texas failed to contain the Horned Frog back. On the 43 other rushing attempts, TCU gained 84 yards for an average of under two yards per carry.
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A number of Longhorns had strong games on defense, with nine players posting a Pro Football Focus grade above 69. The only player remaining from that group of nine on the 2024 roster? Barron, the 2024 Thorpe Award winner. Playing star, Barron posted a defensive grade of 78.9, outclassing Moro Ojomo‘s 77.9 and T’Vondre Sweat‘s 73.5.
Barron is one of four players that played against TCU who will be tasked with stopping Riley’s offense in under a week along with Barryn Sorrell, Vernon Broughton, and Michael Taaffe. This year, Clemson is No. 12 in total offense, No. 17 in passing offense, No. 16 in scoring offense, and No. 31 in team passing efficiency. The Tigers have more first downs, 317, than anyone in the country save for the Miami Hurricanes.
Passing is the Tigers’ forte, especially with a banged up running back room. As mentioned, Kwiatkowski battled the Air Raid often at Washington when he battled Leach in the Apple Cup.
| Year | WSU total offense | WSU YPA | WSU total offense vs. UW | WSU YPA vs. UW | Apple Cup Result |
| 2014 | 517.5 ypg (No.7) | 7.45 | 376 yards | 7.24 | 31-13 UW |
| 2015 | 469.6 ypg (No. 25) | 6.88 | 319 yards | 4.97 | 45-10 UW |
| 2016 | 482.5 ypg (No. 18) | 7.11 | 334 yards | 5.38 | 45-17 UW |
| 2017 | 434.8 ypg (No. 33) | 6.69 | 345 yards | 6.71 | 41-14 UW |
| 2018* | 451.5 ypg (No. 27) | 7.17 | 237 yards | 4.34 | 28-15 UW |
| 2019* | 505.2 ypg (No. 7) | 8.05 | 339 yards | 4.97 | 31-13 UW |
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Riley’s play-calling and the style of offense he’ll bring to Austin is one of the few things familiar for the Longhorns. Kwiatkowski will hope to net a familiar result against the Air Raid to boost Texas into the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff.
