Written by Erik Slaby
Charlotte, NC – The clouds have rolled in. There’s excitement in the air, with a slight undertone of nervous anticipation. It’s championship day in the Atlantic Coast Conference and conferences across the country. Today, the #2 Clemson Tigers (12-0) return to Bank of America Stadium to face off against the Pittsburgh Panthers (7-5) in the 2018 ACC Championship Game. This is Clemson’s fourth consecutive appearance in the ACC Championship Game, while it’s Pittsburgh’s first ever appearance.
In every championship game the last four seasons, Clemson has played a different opponent and heading into each game, they’ve shown that they’re a dominant team. This season is no different. Clemson has been dominant in every phase of the game this season. They are ranked 2nd in the country in total offense and 7th in the country in total defense. Outside of two games this season, they’ve blown opponents out by 20 points or more. Opposing teams have struggled to stop the Clemson offense and have struggled offensively at times against a lethal Clemson front seven. Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi spoke about Clemson and the gap between them and the rest of the ACC.
“I think there is a gap,” said Narduzzi. “They’re the benchmark of ACC football. I think there’s a lot of great teams in the ACC.” He added, “I think if you look at most conferences, it’s the same way. There’s always one or two teams that are really controlling the conference.” Narduzzi closed stating, “But there’s always that case. That’s kind of what you work for. That’s where we want to be. The only way you do that is go out and beat them, things start to build that way. They’re a great football team. Got a lot of respect about how they’ve done it.”
Offensively, Clemson is led by quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running back Travis Etieene. Since making the switch at quarterback from Kelly Bryant to Lawrence, Clemson’s offense has been unlocked. Lawrence has thrown for 22 touchdowns and only four interceptions this season and was named ACC Rookie of the Year. He’s used his lightning release and downfield passing ability to open up the field and added another dimension to the offense. It has also opened up massive running lanes for the Clemson running game, led by Etieene who led the ACC in rushing with 1,307 rushing yards. He also has 19 touchdowns, which is second in the country and was part of the reason he was named ACC Player of the Year.
Defensively, Clemson’s front seven, specifically the defensive line has led the team. Defensive ends Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant, along with defensive tackles Christian Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence are the power that makes the machine that is the Clemson defense go. All four players are arguably future NFL first round picks. Ferrell leads the team in sacks with 10.5 and Bryant and Wilkins are second and third on the team with six and five sacks. Clemson also has the second best run defense in the country. While the starting front four is dominant, what makes them particularly difficult is the fact that they are so deep. In fact, the majority of the backup defensive lineman could start for several other teams.
Narduzzi spoke about the Clemson defensive line stating, “you’re impressed really at all levels of what they have done in every position. Their D-line is a bunch of first rounders that cause havoc in the backfield, caused havoc against everybody. We have to control them, block them up front to have success Saturday.”
In order to produce offensively against Clemson, Pittsburgh will need to rely on their running game. The Panthers have the 17th ranked rushing attack in the country, led by running backs Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall who’ve combined for over 2000 yards rushing this season. They’ve also accounted for 19 rushing touchdowns this season. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney spoke about Pittsburgh’s rushing attack and their overall offensive scheme.
“Both backs, one of them is right at 1200 yards, the other one is right at 1000 yards,” said Swinney. “They just kind of hammer you. Three runs, bam, bam, bam, here comes some play-action shot. Everything they want to do is be efficient in the run game. Everything is going through that. A lot of shifts, a lot of motions, a lot of trades that force you to have to be very disciplined in how you line up.
They do a great job in coordinating their offense. You think we’re going to turn around, hand it off. But they create angles, edges, extra gaps. How you fit is that critical. It’s not just the front level, it’s the second and third level, your backers, your run support from the secondary, everybody being on the same page. If you don’t do it right, you don’t communicate it right, you don’t have your eyes on the right things, they’re going to expose you.”
With it being grey, cold and rain projected during the game, this game could be a very physical ground and pound type of game. Both teams have great rushing attacks but it will likely come down to which teams passing attack can perform the best in these conditions. This game also has College Football Playoff implications because if Clemson wins, they will likely advance to the playoff. However, if they lose, their fate is in the playoff committee’s hands so Clemson will need to win to remove any doubt.
The ACC Championship Game will take place at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday, December 1st at 8PM EST on ABC.
