Clemson wasn’t perfect against Virginia, but Tigers passed key test in win over Cavs
By most standards, getting an 18-point victory in a conference game against a team that played for a league championship last year would be a great night.
But when you’ve had the success that Clemson’s had in recent years, and when you’re the No. 1 team in the country, the standard is a little different.
The Tigers (3-0, 2-0 ACC) defeated Virginia 41-23 Saturday night at Memorial Stadium to remain undefeated and set up a showdown with No. 8 Miami next week. And they did so while facing the first real adversity of the still-young season.
The Tigers surrendered 417 yards of offense to Virginia (1-1, 1-1) and allowed the Cavaliers to convert 4 of their 5 fourth-down attempts. Clemson will have plenty to work on between now and when they face off with Miami.
“We got a little Robitussin tonight. Hopefully that’ll make us better,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney told the ACC Network after the game. “Didn’t taste real good for a little while there. We were sloppy. Missed a lot of opportunities. Had a few drops where we could’ve put the game away.”
Despite the struggles at times, Clemson still controlled the game for most of the evening.
The Tigers went ahead 17-3 with 5:23 remaining in the second quarter and held a double-digit lead the rest of the way. The Cavaliers pulled to within 27-17 midway through the third quarter, but Clemson quickly answered as Travis Etienne caught a four-yard touchdown pass from Trevor Lawrence on the next drive.
Lawrence finished 25-of-38 passing for 329 yards and three touchdowns. Two of his touchdown passes went to Amari Rodgers. Etienne led Clemson with 187 total yards, with 114 of those coming on receptions.
Virginia out-rushed Clemson 147 to 137, with QB Brennan Armstrong finishing with 89 yards on the ground.
“We’ve got a lot we can improve on. We’re going to have to improve ... if we’re going to win (game) four we’re gonna have to play a lot better than we did tonight,” Swinney said.
Three stars from Clemson’s win over UVa
▪ Amari Rodgers: The senior wideout caught six passes for 72 yards and a pair of touchdowns, with both scoring receptions coming on highlight plays. On the first, Rodgers just got his toe down in the back of the end zone on a perfectly placed 27-yard pass by Trevor Lawrence. On the second, Rodgers caught a screen pass from 9 yards out, made his way towards the end zone and hurdled a defender for the score.
▪ Travis Etienne: It was a record-setting day for Etienne, who scored a touchdown in a game for the 38th time in his career, tying the FBS record. Etienne finished with 19 touches for 187 total yards.
▪ Andrew Booth: The sophomore cornerback had one of the best interceptions you will ever see, pulling in a one-handed pick in the corner of the end zone during the third quarter of Clemson’s victory. Booth finished with three tackles and two pass breakups.
Next Clemson football game
Who: Clemson vs. Miami
Where: Memorial Stadium in Clemson
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10
TV: ABC
Clemson-Virginia scoring plays, stats
First Quarter
CLE—FG Potter 47, 13:24.
CLE—Etienne 16 run (Potter kick), :22.
Second Quarter
UVA—FG Delaney 27, 9:38.
CLE—Rodgers 27 pass from Lawrence (Potter kick), 5:23.
CLE—Rodgers 9 pass from Lawrence (Potter kick), 3:25.
UVA—Jana 23 pass from Armstrong (Delaney kick), :41.
Third Quarter
CLE—FG Potter 42, 10:33.
UVA—Thompson 3 pass from Armstrong (Delaney kick), 6:05.
CLE—Etienne 4 pass from Lawrence (Potter kick), 3:54.
Fourth Quarter
CLE—Mellusi 2 run (Potter kick), 5:27.
UVA—Poljan 5 pass from Armstrong (run failed), 1:11.
- First downs: UVA 25-22
- Time of possession: UVA 33:17 to 26:43
- Passing yards: Clemson 329 to 270
- Rushing yards: UVA 147-137
RUSHING—Virginia, Armstrong 22-88, Taulapapa 13-48, S.Simpson 3-11. Clemson, Etienne 14-73, Lawrence 6-36, Dixon 5-11, Mellusi 3-10, Uiagalelei 2-5, Br.Spector 1-2.
PASSING—Virginia, Armstrong 24-43-2-270. Clemson, Lawrence 25-38-0-329, Uiagalelei 1-1-0-0.
RECEIVING—Virginia, Kemp 10-96, Jana 5-55, Poljan 3-25, L.Davis 2-58, Taulapapa 2-24, S.Simpson 1-9, Thompson 1-3. Clemson, Rodgers 6-72, Etienne 5-114, Ladson 5-71, Br.Spector 4-32, Galloway 2-17, Powell 2-5, D.Allen 1-18, W.Swinney 1-0.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.
Clemson football 2020 schedule, game scores
Sept. 12: Clemson 37, Wake Forest 13
Sept. 19: Clemson 49, The Citadel 0
Oct. 3: Clemson 41, Virginia 23
Oct. 10: vs. Miami 7:30 p.m. (ABC)
Oct. 17: at Georgia Tech
Oct. 24: vs. Syracuse
Oct. 31: vs. Boston College
Nov. 7: at Notre Dame
Nov. 14: Open
Nov. 21: at Florida State
Nov. 28: vs. Pitt
Dec. 5: at Virginia Tech
This story was originally published October 3, 2020 at 11:14 PM.
