Clemson rolls past NC State
The Tigers defeated the Wolfpack 55-10 on the road, to secure the ACC Atlantic Division Championship for the fifth year in a row. Clemson planned on sporting their white pants for tonight’s game; they even wore them during warm-ups. However, when Coach Swinney learned that Wake Forest lost, he told his team to go back in the locker room and, “get them orange pants on.” Wake Forest’s loss meant that the Tiger’s now had a chance to win the Atlantic Division Championship, thus calling for the occasion of wearing the orange pants, as they only wear them when a championship is on the line.
From the first drive, it was obvious to everyone that Clemson would utterly dominate NC State. Throughout the game, Clemson capitalized on NC State’s careless mistakes. The Wolfpack fumbled the ball four times, two of them occurring without any contact. Clemson’s defense only allowed NC State to produce 285 total yards. Meanwhile, the Wolfpack’s defense had no chance to stop the Tiger’s offense. At halftime, Clemson lead NC State 42-0 with 403 total yards, compared to NC State’s 88. Trevor Lawrence finished the game 20-27 with 276 passing yards and 59 rushing yards. Lawrence did not shy away from running the ball when he felt pressure in the pocket. Etienne also had an impressive showing tonight with 112 rushing yards, 31 receiving yards, and three total touchdowns. It looked as if Tee Higgins may have hurt himself in first quarter but he returned to the game strong, and finished the game with 73 yards and a touchdown.
NC State has not had a consistent set of players all season, as they have been plagued with injuries. Seven of their starters are out with season ending injuries, and they were forced to play tonight without eleven of their usual starters. As a result of their injuries, they have been forced to play a number of different players, including many freshmen, that they may not have originally thought to put in the game. In fact, the Wolfpack have started the most number of different players, 43, in the power five.Tonight, three freshmen linebackers started in their first game. In addition, Devin Leary is the third quarterback that they have played this season. This inconsistency has been a struggle for NC State all season, and proved again to be a challenge for them tonight. Clemson, on the other hand, has been nothing but consistent this whole season. The Tiger’s have been lucky to have avoided many injuries.
Clemson had more penalties than they would have liked to have seen, as they gave up a total 72 yards on10 penalties. In addition, the second half was a little less impressive than the first, as the Tigers only scored two touchdowns and even allowed NC State to put some points on the board. This is largely due to the fact that Clemson took out most of their starters. Overall, Clemson played a solid game of football but, they still have room for improvement. With Penn State’s loss to Minnesota, and Alabama’s loss to LSU, Clemson should earn at least a number four ranking in this week’s poll.
