Once again, the Clemson Tigers are kings of the ACC. Clemson (No. 3 in the latest CFP rankings, No. 4 in the AP poll) avenged their Nov. 7 double-overtime loss on the road against Notre Dame (where they were without star QB Trevor Lawrence thanks to him testing positive for COVID-19) with a 34-10 demolition of the Fighting Irish (#2 in both those polls) in the neutral-site ACC title game Saturday. And Lawrence played a big role in that, completing 25 of 36 passes (69.4 percent) for 322 yards and two touchdowns with an interception and also rushing 14 times for 90 yards and another touchdown. Here’s his first touchdown throw:
Trevor Lawrence has the arm strength to make you pay 💪 pic.twitter.com/SQQu6YfJPz
— ESPN (@espn) December 19, 2020
Here’s his second one:
TOUCHDOWN TIGERS!@Trevorlawrencee makes a big play and connects on a 33-yd TD pass to @_ejda1!#Clemson 14, ND 3 || Watch live on ABC#ALLIN 🐅🐾 pic.twitter.com/GzMuCLoKtE
— Clemson Football (@ClemsonFB) December 19, 2020
And here’s his touchdown run:
Trevor Lawrence extends the lead for the Tigers with a sweet run 🔥 pic.twitter.com/wHTUYgjI9R
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 19, 2020
But Lawrence wasn’t the only offensive star for the Tigers on the day. The receivers shown above there, Amari Rodgers and E.J. Williams, had 121 and 80 receiving yards respectively (on eight and four catches respectively) and a touchdown each. And running back Travis Etienne only carried the ball 10 times, but picked up 124 rushing yards (12.4 per carry) and a touchdown. Here’s that touchdown:
TOUCHDOWN TIGERS.
Travis Etienne breaks loose for a 44-yard touchdown. Clemson stretches their lead to 21.#ACCChampionship pic.twitter.com/yVDhA9bEFA
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) December 19, 2020
This was a great showcase for the Tigers’ offense, and their defense also came through in a big way. While Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book completed 20 of his 28 passes (71.4 percent), they held him to a lot of underneath throws and just 219 yards on the day. And Irish running back Kyren Williams was held to 50 rushing yards on 15 carries, an average of just 3.3 yards per carry. While Notre Dame got the better of this matchup in November, it was all Clemson Saturday.
[ESPN; photo from Ken Ruinard-USA Today Sports]