Wake Forest is suffering with Clemson, but also everyone at the CCA. It’s just that those fights are deeper: in the last three games, Clemson has registered nine landing passes for the Demon Deacons’ 16 points.
As impressive as expected, Clemson seamlessly entered his last boost for school football playoffs with a 37-13 away win on Saturday night.
While more complicated tests are yet to come, adding an opposite game to Notre Dame in early November that may be the game of the year in the Bowl Subdivision, the ease with which the Tigers’ starters have ruled demon deacons. strongly suggests that Clemson is still the ACC. elegance and a bid to triumph in the national semifinals, even as the roster features several new entrants in key roles.
There are some known amounts. One is Quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who said the previous Saturday that he plans to make 2020 his last school season. He finished with 22 successful passes in 28 attempts for 251 yards and 3 touchdowns, adding two on the ground. Another is running back Travis Etienne, who finished with 149 total yards. There’s no greater tandem in school football.
WEEK 2 WINNERS AND PERDANTS: Sun Belt on the rise, Big 12 is hit
ANALYSIS: What we learned from week 2 of the school football season
A year after a slow start to the normal season, Lawrence’s progression was put in the spotlight, the junior almost better before being replaced at the time by genuine rookie DJ Uiagalelei, another former five-star prospect.
Defensively, the Tigers brought first-year students Bryce Breese and Myles Murphy along the defensive line, and any of the newcomers recorded a catch in their school debuts. the most productive nationally since Brent Venables was hired as coordinator in 2012.
With Lawrence and Etienne entrenched as candidates for the postseason team, the surrounding pieces in the attack represented the unknown. Clemson returned an opener to the offensive line. The receiving corps lost Tee Higgins in the NFL and their replacement as Lawrence’s favorite target, Justyn Ross. due to a neck injury that threatens his career.
Both teams of reworked positions have had largely positive starts. The offensive line helped Clemson average four career-consistent yards, with Etienne setting a new school record with his 18th 100-yard game, but allowed for two catches.
Thirteen players made at least one reception, led through Amari Rogers’ receptions for 90 yards. Sophomore Joe Ngata, who is expected to impersonating Higgins as the Tigers’ biggest catcher, added three receptions for 48 yards, but the catchers dropped two landing passes on the target.
While the Demon Deacons landing opposed Clemson’s saves in the last quarter, the Tigers gave in 327 total yards, 293 from the air and failed to force a loss.
Clemson’s small disorders with functionality illustrate the difficulty in locating the first steps in false. And even if the defects exist, and are apparent only in relation to the quarterback scenario and the offensive half, for example, is there a team capable of exploiting the disruptions in normal season time?
Possibly Notre Dame, the Irish were asymmetrical in Saturday’s 27-13 victory over Duke. It can also be Miami, which inspired Thursday night’s victory over Alabama-Birmingham. If North Carolina advances, the Tar Heels offensive can also simply give Clemson a challenge in the convention championship game.
But the biggest threats come from outside the conference: Alabama, Oklahoma, Georgia and Florida, among the few elite groups with realistic playoff passes. With more than 3 months for the playoffs to begin, Clemson is already taking on the challenge.