Let’s be real, this was nothing more than a glorified exhibition as the Tigers won it 59-14. It was that kind of mismatch. Playing a conference game to open the season caused this one to get pushed back instead of being played early on like we see most seasons.
- Let’s go ahead and get it out of the way. Yes, these games aren’t very entertaining from the fans perspective. All P5 teams outside of the B1G play FCS teams, and the B1G teams now are playing an extra G5 team in their place. A large majority of these FCS teams use the money from these games to finance their athletic departments. Without it, many would be in trouble. It’s one game a year, it is what it is.
- Over 700 yards of offense, more than 400 coming on the ground. That’s impressive no matter who the opponent is.
- Trevor Lawrence is now officially dialed in. That’s bad news for any future opponents. 13-17, 221 yards and 3 TDs. 4 carriers 33 yards and another TD. He did stay in longer than I expected.
- Two busts on the back end, both seemed to be by Nolan Turner. One should’ve been a long TD but was dropped, the other was a long TD.
- Travis Etienne has returned to form after a short stretch of games in which he didn’t have the production we’re used to seeing from him. 9 carries 212 yards and 2 long TDs. He now owns the school record for career touchdowns rushing, and he also went over the 1000 yard mark for the season today.
- Tee Higgins looks like he’s healthy now after dealing with a hamstring issue. If this team is going to make noise in the playoff, Tee will be a big reason why. 5 catches 74 yards and a TD for the junior wideout.
- Chase Brice was better today than last week. Against BC, they were letting him air it out some. Today he was back to playing within the system.
- It’s so awesome to see guys like Patrick McClure and Ty Lucas get time on the field.
- I really like Chez Mellusi. He’s going to be a valuable weapon in this offense the next couple of years.
- Another week and another dominant performance from this defense. Defending the spread option was no problem. The Terriers couldn’t get a thing going before the mass substitutions started. I’ll say it again, Brent Venables is the best in the business. Nine straight games in which the Tigers have held opponents to under 300 yards.
- Speaking of BV, Jake Venables had himself a game. Maybe the best of his young career so far. After entering the game he was consistently making plays, including a couple of TFL.
- Not a good day punting the ball for Will Spiers.
- Thank you ACC Network. It was a bumpy start as far as getting all the major providers on board but this new network is the reason we won’t be seeing any noon kicks at home this season. Having those two new time slots at 4 pm and 7 pm has been something most fans really like. If not for the network, today was no doubt a nooner.
- Overall, not a whole lot to be gleaned from this kind of game. Clemson did what they were supposed to do. They jumped on them from the start and blew their doors off. Lots of guys saw the field and most importantly everyone came away healthy. Up next is NC State. The Pack are having serious issues stopping the run right now. It’s a night game in Raleigh. This team hasn’t played a night game on the road yet.
