Clemson, SC- Playing probably their most complete game of the 2019 season, the number two ranked Clemson Tigers dismantled the Florida State Seminoles 45-14 to move to 6-0 and remain undefeated on the year.
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney on the win, “That was a really talented football team that we beat today. One of those teams where if you get off to a slow start and you can let them hang around because they can hang with us.” He continued, “The formula kind of went the way we needed it to go today as far as getting a fast start, made some big plays. It was our best game to date for sure.”
Clemson was in complete control from the opening kickoff, showcasing aggressive play calling as quarterback Trevor Lawrence went deep to Tee Higgins for a 40-yard pickup on the very first play of the game. The Seminoles were caught off guard, and just five plays later the Tigers capped off their drive with a three-yard touchdown by Travis Etienne.
Florida State could never recover from that opening drive, and Clemson was off to the races for the remainder of the day.
Leading the way offensively for the Tigers was quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who carved up the FSU defense for three touchdown passes and completing 17 of his 25 passes for 170-yards and an interception. The sophomore dazzled some big play ability, finding his talented receiving core in space down field seemingly whenever he wanted. Lawrence had one blemish on the day with an interception where he forced a ball he probably shouldn’t have thrown, but did more than enough to overcome the mistake.
Leading all rushers for Clemson was Travis Etienne, who rushed 17 times for 127-yards. Early in the third quarter, Etienne broke out for a 27-yard gain (his longest of the day), which pushed Travis across the 3,000-yard mark for his career with the Tigers, cementing him as one of the premier running backs in college football over the last few years.
Coach Swinney on Etienne, “Great players respond and he responded. Really played with the eye of the Tiger today.”
Equally as impressive by Clemson was their defensive effort as they allowed just 185 total yards on the day. The Tigers defensive unit seemingly had an answer for everything Florida State threw at them shutting down any chances the Seminoles may have had to get in the game.
Creating four turnovers, including three interceptions with a pick six, the Brent Venables led defense flew around the field, really allowing the offense to open things up and take the early chances to put them ahead so early.
The play of the game defensively was the pick six as cornerback Derion Kendrick made a great break on a throw by FSU’s James Blackmon. The sophomore went untouched on his way to the 38-yard score, giving Clemson a 42-0 lead and putting the exclamation point on the great day for the starters who would not return to the field following the touchdown.
This was the most complete game of the season thus far for Clemson, who move to 6-0 on the season and 3-0 in ACC play. The defending College Football Playoff Nation Champions have rebounded well since their narrow victory over UNC a couple games ago, and will try to continue improving every week on their quest to become the first back to back national champions since the 2011-2012 Alabama Crimson Tide.
Clemson will travel to Louisville next Saturday to take on the Cardinals for a noon kickoff. Louisville will be looking for a bit of revenge after last year’s game, where the Tigers destroyed the Cardinals 77-16 in what was head coach Bobby Petrino’s final game.
Written by Brian Pohl
