What We Learned From Clemson Cruising Past Pitt
It's hard to draw up a better outcome than Saturday's 52-17 victory over Pittsburgh at Memorial Stadium.
The No. 3 Tigers celebrated the final game of stars like Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne on Senior Day. They rebooted an offense that hadn't been led by Lawrence at quarterback since Oct. 24 and racked up 581 total yards in 90 plays on a defense that was ranked third in the ACC behind the Tigers heading into the week.
The defense held Pitt to 246 total yards, forced five turnovers and sacked Kenny Pickett six times. It was the kind of bounce-back performance you'd expect from a Brent Venables defense.
There was a short lull in the second and third quarters, but overall, the Tigers played as well as one could expect considering they hadn't played in three weeks.
That means there are tons of takeaways from another dominating performance that put Clemson closer to a rematch with Notre Dame in the ACC Championship Game. Here are some lessons learned following a special day in front of more than 18,000 fans at Death Valley:
Still setting records
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney brought up a great point after the game: This year's team continues to do things that have never been done before, adding that Clemson has been playing football "a long time around here."
And despite a pandemic-dominated season with fewer games than usual and uncertainty at every turn, this has turned out to be a pretty special squad.
Here are a few of the records and accolades they reached:
- Clemson's 31 first-quarter points against Pitt on Saturday is the most ever in the first quarter for the program.
- The Tigers joined FSU as the only teams in ACC history to score 34 or more points in the first nine games of a season.
- Clemson has had 400 yards passing in back-to-back games for the first time in school history, and it happened with two different QBs.
- Lawrence has won 32 career games as the starting quarterback, tying him with Deshaun Watson, Tajh Boyd and Rodney Williams for the most ever at Clemson.
- Lawrence also went over 10,000 yards of total offense, joining just Watson and Boyd.
- Travis Etienne's 20 receiving yards set the school mark for receiving yards in a season, passing C.J. Spiller.
- Cornell Powell became just the sixth Clemson receiver ever to record three consecutive games of 100 yards or more Saturday.
- Amari Rodgers became the first Tiger ever to record at least six receptions in seven consecutive games.
- Clemson's senior class became the first in school history to never lose a home game and became the first FBS senior class to go perfect since 2010 Boise State and Oklahoma.
This receiver group is special
One of Clemson's biggest concerns heading into the season was receiver. With Justyn Ross out for the year and Tee Higgins in the NFL, questions about who would step up and carry the load were plentiful. As it turns out, this has become a group that should be remembered in school history, even though it doesn't feature a sure-fire first-round NFL draft selection.
Still, what Powell and Rodgers, two seniors, have done to turn a perceived weakness into a strength is nothing short of impressive. Remember when sophomores Josepth Ngata and Frank Ladson Jr. were going to make or break this unit? Well, both have been hurt for much of this season, and the offense hasn't missed a beat. Give new WR coach Tyler Grishman, who's been hit with adversity at every turn, a ton of credit in his first year, and don't forget how much Powell and Rodgers, who combined for 269 yards on 16 catches against Pitt, have meant to the success of 2020.
Signs of life
The run game has been criticized, and rightfully so, at times this season for not racking up tons of 200-yard games and dominating the line of scrimmage. Saturday's numbers on the surface probably won't turn heads: 145 yards on 38 carries (3.8 yards per rush).
However, there are signs that this aspect of the game is turning a corner when you take a deeper look. Travis Etienne averaged 5.3 yards per carry, which is still well below his career mark, but Lyn-J Dixon had one of his best games with an average run of 5.1 yards. Chez Mellusi also came off the bench to average 5.4 yards per tote. And this came against a Pitt defense that allows 2.6 yards per run and has allowed just two teams more yards than it gave up to Clemson.
Middle of the defense is back
The return of Clemson defensive tackle Tyler Davis and linebacker James Skalski proved what so many people knew: They are integral to the success of Venables' unit. The duo helped push Pitt around upfront. They created gaps and holes for other players to make plays, something Clemson dearly missed. They're both incredibly knowledgeable and reliable.
This defense just flowed differently because of those two in the middle of the field. Clemson had eight tackles for a loss. Skalski tied the team-high with six tackles, and Davis had a sack. They give the Tigers a tremendous lift moving forward.
Kendrick and tough love
It's hard to make sense of what's going on with Clemson cornerback Derion Kendrick. Saturday marked the third time he unexpectedly didn't play a game. Swinney has been cryptic about why and reluctant to call Kendrick's absence a suspension. Instead, Swinney keeps talking about tough love and discipline being the greatest form of love.
Swinney really likes Kendrick. So much so that he isn't saying what the defensive back has done to lose playing time, helping keep his status on the team and his NFL draft stock intact. But at some point, Clemson needs one of its star defensive players to actually play and help his team win, which is probably why he's still on the team.
