Paws Up, Paws Down: Clemson Can ‘Five Bomb’ the Seminoles

It seems this Tiger team has completely flushed the subpar performance against UNC out of its system. After two weeks of listening to all the naysayers in the media and inside its own fan base after escaping Chapel Hill with a one point win, Clemson wasted no time in showing the college football world that the reports of this teams demise were a little premature.

Clemson dominated from the outset, hitting a 40 yard pass play on the games first offensive snap, and never looked back in their 45-14 win over Florida State. Coach Swinney was fired up on the hill and it showed on the first drive when the Tigers were extremely aggressive, breaking out a trick play to go along with deep shots. It worked! The win was Clemson’s fifth straight over the Seminoles, and like last years blowout win, demonstrated just how big the gap is between these two programs.

Travis Etienne

That was the ETN we have become accustomed to seeing. He hadn’t looked quite like his normal self since taking a big hit in Syracuse. Yesterday he was back to running through contact, and was tough to bring down. He had his first 100 yard game (127 yards) since the opener and averaged 7.5 yards a carry. He even completed a pass. This offense is at its best when the running game is working, and it was working to the tune of 320 total rushing yards..... Paws Up

Trevor Lawrence

There were no signs of a sore shoulder or a sophomore slump against the Noles. Lawrence came out firing, connecting with Tee Higgins for 40 yards on the games first play. Outside of a couple of throws late in the first half, he was as accurate as ever. He threw 3 TD’s and ran for another. Once again he was a factor in the running game, rushing for 40 yards and 6.7 yards per carry..... Paws Up

Offensive Line

After the dismal performance against UNC, this group had a pretty good bounce back game. Lawrence had plenty of time to throw and was never sacked. The backs had lanes to run through, and they were getting a push. They still need to cut down on the false starts, especially at home, but overall..... Paws Up

Linebackers

This might have been this groups best game to date. FSU was playing catch up almost immediately and were forced into abandoning the run, but when they did run it there was very little room. The backers were in the right gaps and were flying around all over the field. Chad Smith had a pick off of a tipped ball. Freshman Kane Patterson looked good when he got on the field late. FSU was just 2-13 on 3rd down and had just 103 yards rushing (most coming in garbage time), and the LB’s were a big part of the reason why..... Paws Up

Play Calling

It looked like the staff opened up the playbook a little more. We saw a halfback pass, a reverse, and an intermediate passing game instead of everything being thrown downfield..... Paws Up

BT Potter

As Dabo himself said at halftime, you have got to make the layups..... Paws Down

Jumbo Package

We got a glimpse at the new look jumbo package. Xavier Thomas got a goal line carry on a 4th and goal, but the result was not what we have become to expect from this short yardage package. It probably won’t be the last time we see it..... Paws Crossed

And in other action from around the country.....

Virginia

Looking for their first 3-0 ACC start in 12 years, the Cavs fell flat on their faces in South Beach against Miami Friday night. They could only muster 3 FGs in the 17-9 loss. They now fall into a tie with UNC and Duke for 1st place in the Coastal..... Paws Down

Wisconsin

The Badgers are the least talked about unbeaten team in 2019. All they did on Saturday was pitch their 4th shutout in 6 games, holding Sparty to just 7 first downs and 149 total yards..... Paws Up

Wake Forest

Who knew this was actually going to resemble an ACC basketball game more so than it would an ACC football game. The Deacs came in unbeaten, ranked 19th, and were a touchdown favorite at home over Louisville. Wake had 668 yards of offense and 40 1st downs, yet lost 62-59. It was a very entertaining game though. It’s a shame for Clemson, who loses the only ranked team remaining on their schedule..... Paws Down

Georgia

I bet the Dawgs are wishing they had won by one point right about now..... Paws Down

That is all we have for this week. Let us know some of your takes from the weekend in the comments.