As competition level rises, Clemson gets chance to prove dominance on the big stage
Clemson’s heard it all year: They haven’t played anybody.
Well, that’s about to change for the No. 3 Tigers.
There will be no more games as a four-touchdown favorite. ACC teams are off the schedule. Overmatched secondaries trying to cover the Tigers’ super-talented pass-game threats are a thing of the past.
Clemson won’t need any benefit of the doubt or style points. The Tigers are in the College Football Playoff with a 62-17 victory over Virginia at Bank of America in Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday night, when Swinney’s program captured its fifth consecutive ACC championship.
They’ll face Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 28, with the winner advancing to the national championship.
“We don’t talk about how many touchdowns we are favored by or the spread. We don’t talk about any of that,” Clemson co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said. “We just talk about playing our best football. Our guys have really bought into that. They continue to improve and play their best football.”
A brand-new season is underway, one that could truly test a Tigers team that’s won 28 consecutive games.
This team wasn’t challenged as much in the regular season as its playoff competitors. Some of that was the schedule Clemson couldn’t help and a lot of it is just how good this team has performed, but this team doesn’t care about what’s been said about their previous 13 opponents.
“We don’t look at that type of narrative,” Clemson senior safety K’Von Wallace said. “We just be who we are.”
Outside of a defensive stop on a two-point conversion try at North Carolina, where the Tigers won 21-20, they’ve been dominant. There hasn’t been a Clemson game decided by less than two touchdowns.
Since that UNC game, the Tigers have won by an average margin of 42 points per game.
Heading into their fifth consecutive playoff, here’s what we know about Clemson: The offense is humming. There isn’t a more dangerous passing attack outside of Baton Rouge than the ACC Tigers.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence has thrown for 26 touchdowns to three interceptions in his last eight games, including zero picks in his last six.
Tee Higgins is playing like one of the best receivers in the nation. Travis Etienne is capping the most prolific rushing career in Clemson history. The offense line is playing well.
The Tiger defense didn’t allow a single team to reach 300 yards until Virginia put up 387 on Saturday.
The playoff committee has said for weeks now that Clemson, LSU and Ohio State separated themselves as the best teams in the nation.
The Tigers are an early 2-point favorite over the Buckeyes.
“It’s not going to matter what the spread is, who we’re playing or where we’re playing,” Elliott said. “It matters about us staying humble and respecting the process.”
As solid as Virginia, a top-25 team coming into the week, was this year, it lacked the kind of playmakers an Ohio State, LSU or Oklahoma possess on offense. Still, behind QB Bryce Perkins, the Cavaliers challenged Clemson’s secondary early in the game with things they hadn’t seen on tape, racking up 109 yards through the air in the first half. Five Clemson opponents didn’t reach that mark in an entire game this season.
It’ll be fascinating to see the schemes defensive coordinator Brent Venables, a wiz at taking away teams’ strengths, draws up against high-powered offenses, and if the Tigers can produce more of a pass rush with its defensive front.
How will a back seven that’s been the reason for defensive dominance handle multiple receivers who can stretch the field?
Here’s what’s known: Clemson has a ton of players who have a track record of dominance in their postseason appearances. Higgins and fellow receiver Justyn Ross combined caught five of Lawrence’s six College Football Playoff touchdowns a season ago.
“We also understand that this program has been built on the bigger the lights, the better we play,” Elliott said. “We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Next
Who: Clemson (13-0) vs. Ohio State (13-0)
Where: PlayStation Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix
When: 8 pm Saturday, Dec. 28
TV: ESPN
Early line: Clemson by 2