Tigers Punch Ticket to ACC Championship
RALEIGH — With the Atlantic Division championship on the line the No. 5 Clemson Tigers (10-0, 7-0 ACC) took out their perceived slight by the College Football Playoff rankings on a beat up and battered NC State Wolfpack team by a final score of 55-10 Saturday night, and punched their ticket to Charlotte for the ACC Championship.
"It's really special (to clinch the division). I just so proud of our guys," head coach Dabo Swinney said. "It was just an unbelievable night. Things worked out to where we had a chance to clinch tonight. And man they were ready, they were focused and to win it for the fifth time in a row that's an amazing accomplishment for these guys.
"We are just building on what's happened in the previous years, but we're excited about it. That's our next goal, to win the division, but we've got a lot more goals too."
With a ton of controversy over where the Tigers fell in the first CFP rankings, Swinney still believes that his team just needs to keep focusing on what they can control and, hopefully, they will find themselves hearing their name called on selection Sunday.
"Hopefully we can keep playing well and we'll have a shot," Swinney said. "A couple of teams lost, so maybe we'll move up in there. But that doesn't really matter right now. What matters is taking care of what we control, and that's game day."The Tigers domination started in the first quarter, when they forced two Wolfpack turnovers, scored four touchdowns and outgained the Wolfpack 210 yards to 14.
Clemson finished the first quarter with a 28-0 lead, the first time they have scored 28 points in the first quarter of a game since 2012 (Duke). The record-tying first quarter also extended the Tigers first quarter domination of opponents to 128-7.
The Tigers returned to the scoreboard domination in the second quarter.
After quarterback Trevor Lawrence completed passes for 36 total yards, and running back Travis Etienne moved the ball to the 1-yard line on a 7-yard run, the Tigers turned to their new-look Jumbo Package, as John Simpson took the handoff and became the first offensive lineman to score a touchdown since Brandon Thomas recovered a fumble in the end zone at Georgia Tech on Oct. 29, 2011.
Facing a fourth-and-5 from the 50-yard line with 1:02 to play in the first half Swinney was not ready to call of the dogs. Lawrence found Lyn-J Dixon for a 1 7-yard gain before he found Justyn Ross for a 33-yard touchdown that extended their first half lead to 42-0
"We just play Clemson every week," Swinney said. "We respect every opponent, we take pride in the preparation that leads to these types of performances."
NC State had their best drive of the first half on their ensuing drive, as they drove to the Clemson 10-yard line before their third fumble of the first half was recovered by Xavier Thomas.
The 42-0 halftime lead tied the second-largest tied halftime lead in an ACC game over the last 15 seasons. In 2016, Louisville led by 44 points against NC State.
NC State finally got on the board in the second half, as Bam Knight capped off a 5-play, 75-yard drive with a 53-yard touchdown run that cut the Tigers' lead to 42-7.
The Tigers answered the Wolfpack score on their next drive.
Etienne capped off an 11-play, 75-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown run, his 50th touchdown and only two shy of the ACC record held by former Pitt running back James Connor. Etienne finished the game with 112 yards rushing, which tied the school record for consecutive 100-yard rushing games set by Kenny Flowers and Raymond Priester.
The Wolfpack added a 46-yard field goal that cut the lead to 49-10, but that was as close as they would get, as the Tigers', following a muffed punt, scored a final touchdown 11 seconds remaining in the game.
Tiger Tracks:
- Clemson won 10 games for a school-record ninth consecutive season. With its 10th win of the season, Clemson would match Texas (2001-09) for the third-longest streak of 10-win seasons in FBS history.
- Clemson clinched the ACC Atlantic Division to become the first ACC team to win five consecutive division titles.
- Clemson earned a berth in the ACC Championship Game for the seventh time, passing Virginia Tech (six) for the most ACC Championship Game appearances in either division
Up Next: The Tigers close out their home schedule against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons Saturday (3:30 p.m., ABC).
