In ACC finale, Clemson looks like a team poised to win another national championship

Who’s going to beat them?

That’s my question after watching Clemson eviscerate yet another ACC opponent in yet another ACC championship game rout Saturday night in Charlotte.

And you know what I think the answer is?

Nobody.

LSU fans are welcome to disagree, and maybe that’s legitimate. Certainly it looks like it will be Tigers vs. Tigers for college football’s national championship game Jan. 13 in New Orleans after they each win a national semifinal on Dec. 28. Bourbon Street will be filled with LSU supporters for the title game, because New Orleans is basically home territory for LSU.

I still like Clemson to win.

Clemson’s 62-17 victory over Virginia before 66,810 orange-clad fans in Charlotte was never in doubt Saturday night. Clemson ran a two-minute scoring offense even when it wasn’t trying to, with touchdown drives of 84, 94 and 98 seconds in the first half alone.

Virginia did its best, scoring more points than any Clemson opponent had in two months. Cavaliers quarterback Bryce Perkins is all sorts of fun. But like a restaurant on graduation night, the Cavaliers were woefully understaffed.

Clemson won its 28th game in a row, and its eighth in a row by at least 31 points.

That was no surprise — Clemson (13-0) had been favored by 28. But what is something of a surprise to me is that Clemson isn’t also considered the favorite to win the national championship for the third time in four years.

It’s true that Clemson’s pass rush isn’t as dominant, which will happen when three of your defensive linemen are among the first 17 picks of the 2019 NFL draft.

But the skill players on offense — I mean, 62 points?! — make Clemson look an awful lot like the best football team to run around on Bank of America’s turf all season. The opponent had sometime to do with it, yes, but Clemson also has a bunch of players who are going to make some noise in the NFL.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney — whose Tigers have gone 71-3 in their last 74 games — can be irritating and over-the-top to his detractors. But he does make some good points about how the Tigers have been penalized for the ACC’s perceived weakness and their one blip — that one-point Clemson win over North Carolina on Sept. 28.

As impressive as Ohio State’s comeback win against Wisconsin was Saturday night, I don’t think the Buckeyes are as good as Clemson. And while LSU seems like the biggest challenge the Tigers could face and has carved up the SEC this season, I just don’t think LSU has quite enough.

“We just want to have an opportunity to compete for the whole thing,” Swinney said on the field afterward. “I think we’ve done enough to get somewhere in that top four. Wherever they put us, we just want a chance to play and see if we can get to the top of the mountain.”

Lawrence leads Clemson

On Saturday night, Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence was just about perfect. When he didn’t complete the ball, it was usually a drop. His stats were gaudy — 16 for 22 for 302 yards and four touchdowns in only three quarters of play.

Lawrence hasn’t had the crazy statistical year that LSU quarterback Joe Burrow has had, which is why Burrow is about to win the Heisman Trophy. But Lawrence has never lost a game at Clemson, either, and I don’t think he’s going to anytime soon.

On Saturday night, Virginia made it very interesting for about four minutes. The Cavaliers hit on 46-yard deep ball on the third play of the game, giving them a first down at Clemson’s 13. But then Perkins threw an interception, and Clemson’s offense began a first quarter in which it would average 15.2 yards per play.

Clemson was still ahead only 14-7 when Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall inexplicably didn’t go for a fourth-and-4 at the Clemson 44 late in the first quarter. Listen, Clemson is going to score practically every time. You’re a four-TD underdog. Gamble! (Virginia would later run a fake punt, but by then the Cavaliers were down by 24).

Etienne, Higgins star

That ill-fated Virginia first-quarter punt, which went only 27 yards, was the last time it was a one-score game. Clemson poured it on for a 31-7 halftime lead.

Running back Travis Etienne was his usual ridiculously good self (14 carries, 114 yards). Wide receiver Tee Higgins (nine catches, 182 yards, three touchdowns) and also made one of the most spectacular sideline catches you will ever see.

It was, in other words, your average Clemson blowout. But don’t blame that on the ACC. The Tigers would be blowing out most people in the SEC, too — they are just that good.

And I don’t think anybody is going to beat them.

This story was originally published December 7, 2019 at 11:14 PM.

Scott Fowler

The Charlotte Observer

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Columnist Scott Fowler has written for The Charlotte Observer since 1994 and has earned 26 APSE awards for his sportswriting. He hosted The Observer’s podcast “Carruth,” which Sports Illustrated once named “Podcast of the Year.” Fowler also conceived and hosted the online series and podcast “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” which featured 1-on-1 interviews with NC and SC sports icons and was turned into a book. He occasionally writes about non-sports subjects, such as the 5-part series “9/11/74,” which chronicled the forgotten plane crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 in Charlotte on Sept. 11, 1974. Support my work with a digital subscription