‘Greatness is still to be had’: Clemson shifts gears for final playoff push

Clemson ended its regular season in Saturday’s 38-3 win over South Carolina with several impressive streaks.

After earning their sixth consecutive victory in the rivalry series, the No. 3 Tigers have won 27 consecutive games, dating back to last season. They’ve held their last 15 opponents to 20 points or less, and none of their 12 foes this season reached 300 total yards of offense.

“Sustaining the grind is easily the hardest thing to do,” Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables said after the road win over the Gamecocks. “It’s easy to grow weary. It’s a long season.”

Since a 21-20 victory at North Carolina on Sept. 28, Clemson (12-0) has won by an average margin of victory of 41.7 points per game.

“We don’t want to peak in the middle of the year, we want to get better and better,” Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence said. “I think we’ve done that. It takes a lot of focus and paying attention to details in practice and preparation.”

The Tigers, however, have little time to soak in their accomplishments because an entire new season is underway: the postseason.

Clemson is making its final push for a College Football Playoff spot when it competes for its fifth consecutive ACC Championship at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Charlotte.

“We’re honored to play Virginia in Charlotte for our league (title),” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “We’re not entitled to win. You’ve got to earn it every single week. We’re thankful we get another week of football. We don’t ever take that for granted.”

To have a shot at defending its national championship from a year ago, Clemson will very likely have to beat the Cavaliers to earn one of the four playoff bids.

Sitting in that third spot, they could end up playing No. 2 LSU in either the Fiesta or Peach Bowl if the top three teams hold their rankings.

“This team has some unique opportunities in front of it, but if we find a way to win the (Virginia) game, we’ve got a chance to hopefully get back in the playoff,” Swinney said.

Swinney has been gearing up for these moments all year, even when his team didn’t quite look worthy of the No. 1 ranking it once held. Clemson’s coach was critical Saturday of people overlooking his team’s dominance this season based on the perceived weakness of the ACC, but the Tigers have morphed into the team many pundits say others don’t want to face in the playoff.

“I think greatness is still to be had,” Venables said. “It’s still out there in front of us. I know how hard our players and coaches have worked to put ourselves in this position.”

Clemson’s been in the playoff the previous four seasons, something none of the other teams around them in the rankings can say.

That consistency has led to a way of doing things that’s led to outside criticism; the Tigers say they could’ve put up gaudier numbers throughout the year but pulled their starters in favor of building needed depth.

That was replaced Saturday with making sure Lawrence and his playmakers stayed engaged until the fourth quarter.

“Early in the season you may pull those guys because you’ve got a lot of football to play, but we’re down to only a couple of games,” Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott said. “Those guys are getting ready to play in some four-quarter games probably coming up so we wanted to be sure and get enough work and be smart with what we ask him to do. You can’t coach this game scared. You’re not going to be very good.”

Next

Who: Clemson vs Virginia, ACC Championship Game

When: 7:30 pm Saturday

Where: Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte

TV: ABC