Clemson overwhelms Pittsburgh 42-10 in Charlotte, awaits playoff assignment

It was a bloodbath, then a snooze-fest, then finally business as usual.

Entering Saturday night’s ACC Championship Game at Bank of America Stadium, the Clemson Tigers (12-0, 8-0 ACC) were one of the nation’s three remaining unbeaten teams, with a fourth consecutive College Football Playoff appearance on the line.

All they had to do to get there? Not stumble against the Pittsburgh Panthers (7-5, 6-2 ACC) on primetime TV.

And the Tigers certainly did not disappoint, dominating 42-10 en route to the program’s fourth consecutive conference title. After beating North Carolina, Virginia Tech, and Miami in the past three iterations of this game, Clemson again proved itself to be the ACC’s best by completely overwhelming the Panthers.

Clemson star running back Travis Etienne, who finished the regular season with over 1,300 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns, broke off a 75-yard score on the game’s first play to set the tone for the night.

Then on Pitt’s second offensive possession, the Tigers’ vaunted defensive line collapsed the pocket around Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett, forcing a fumble that was almost returned for a touchdown. Etienne converted on the very next play, giving Clemson a 14-0 lead it never ceded.

After a less-entertaining stretch of play where both teams traded punts, Clemson finally re-established itself. Freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw two touchdowns to receiver Tee Higgins, and Clemson’s defense clamped down on Pitt’s rushing attack.

As the final seconds eventually ticked off the clock, there was only one thing left for Clemson to do — proudly lift the conference championship trophy. Again.

Three who mattered

Travis Etienne: On a night where Lawrence had his struggles, Etienne more than proved why he was the ACC’s Player of the Year. In addition to taking the game’s first play 75 yards for a touchdown, he finished the night with 156 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 12 attempts.

Isaiah Simmons: On Pitt’s second offensive drive — their first ended with a punt after losing 10 yards in three plays — Simmons got into the Panthers’ backfield and forced a fumble on quarterback Kenny Pickett. Clemson recovered the fumble and scored on the next play, putting Pitt in an early, and insurmountable, 14-0 hole.

A.J. Terrell: Down 21-10 with less than a minute before halftime, Pickett threw left for his receive r... and instead was intercepted by Terrell, who bobbled the ball before finally coming down with it. His 31-yard return set up Lawrence’s second touchdown of the game, and instead of trailing by 11 at the half, the Panthers found themselves down by 18.

Observations

▪ Didn’t take long for Clemson’s dynamic offense to show itself. On the very first play of the game, Etienne bounced a carry around the right side of Clemson’s offensive line, and then cut back across the field to the left on a streak for the end zone. He ran practically untouched for 75 yards, setting a record for quickest score in ACC Championship history. Oh, and for the sake of comparison, Clemson had just 77 total rushing yards in last year’s title game victory over Miami.

▪ Sort of a wonky scoring pattern for the Tigers, who somehow had three separate one-play scoring drives. There was Etienne’s 75-yarder on the first offensive play of the game, then his 3-yard score after defensive tackle Christian Wilkins returned a Pitt fumble deep into the red zone. Lastly, there was Lawrence’s 10-yard touchdown pass to receiver Tee Higgins right before halftime, which came on the heels of a Clemson interception.

▪ Give Pitt some credit for at least showing signs of life on offense. The Panthers, who entered Saturday’s game averaging 232.7 rushing yards per game, found success running the ball against Clemson’s No. 2-ranked rushing defense. They ended the night with 192 yards on 48 attempts, and also scored their lone touchdown on the ground.

▪ A week after allowing over 500 passing yards against South Carolina, Clemson’s secondary had a drastically different performance Saturday night. Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett finished the night a dismal 4-for-16 for just 8 yards and no touchdowns.

▪ What a weird game it was for Clemson punter Will Spiers. In the span of one half, the sophomore had about as bad a punt as you’ll ever see, a 15-yard doinker, and then a 63-yard bomb, the longest punt in the history of the ACC Championship Game. He ended the night averaging 35.9 yards per kick.

Worth mentioning

▪ “Bad weather” as an excuse for poor college football usually is overblown or completely unwarranted — both teams play through the same rain, wind, or whatever else — but it at least bore mentioning Saturday night, if for nothing else than the field. As a day’s worth of rain somewhat ruined the sod inside Bank of America Stadium, both bands and any halftime events were kept in their seats to “protect the integrity of the field.”

▪ No way new Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper, a Pittsburgh native who graduated from Pitt undergrad, was going to miss this game. Tepper, fully clad in light blue Pitt colors, was around Saturday with several of his old college buddies.

▪ For a game featuring a number of top NFL prospects, there were a surprisingly low number of NFL teams represented at Saturday’s game. The Philadelphia Eagles and Carolina Panthers both had scouts in attendance, and Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie was also present.

This story was originally published December 1, 2018 at 11:40 PM.