Paws Up, Paws Down: Tigers Roll In Columbia

#3 Clemson rolled into Williams Brice and wasted no time in showing just how far apart these two programs are currently. The Tigers were dominant on both sides of the ball, and rolled to an easy 38-3 win over in state rival South Carolina. It was the kind of performance you want to see from this team as they head into postseason play.

The Tigers improve to 12-0 on the season and have now won 27 in a row. The Gamecocks end a disappointing season at 4-8 overall and 3-5 in SEC play. After the big upset in Athens, they dropped five of their next six games, with the only win coming over Vanderbilt.

Let the debates begin, does Will Muschamp stay or does he go? The result today was without question enough to be embarrassing, but hopefully not quite enough to make the decision makers want to write that check. Either way it gave us a great new hashtag to use in #38ToThee.

Offense

This offense is humming right along and is peaking at just the right time. 527 yards of offense, with 211 coming on the ground. Clemson had 30 first downs and were 12-17 on 3rd down (10-13 with Lawrence in). This was the teams 6th straight win by more than 30, tying the 2011 Houston team and the 1976 Michigan team for the longest streak in the AP Poll era (1936). This is the team no one wants to see in the semifinal round of the CFP..... Paws Up

Trevor Lawrence

After being a little off on some throws on the opening drive, Lawrence got dialed in and ripped the U of SC defense to shreds. He finished up 26-36 for 295 yards, with 3 TDs, and once again no picks. He also led the team with 66 rushing yards, much of which came on a couple of big third down conversions. His first TD throw of the day seemed to get him going and they don’t get any prettier than this..... Paws Up

Tee Higgins

Tee finished with just 3 catches, but those three went for 101 yards and two touchdowns. He now has 10 TD catches on the season, making him the first player in school history to post double-digit TD receptions in consecutive seasons..... Paws Up

Justyn Ross

Ross had his most productive day since week 2 against Charlotte, catching 9 balls for 111 yards, including one touchdown. He and Higgins both were toying with the Gamecock corners, who have actually been pretty solid this season..... Paws Up

Defense

You just can’t say enough about this group. Even after all the losses from last season, Brent Venables’ defense hasn’t skipped a beat. The Gamecocks had just 174 yards of offense, the lowest output in the Muschamp era. That's now 12 straight opponents the Tigers have held to under 300 total yards, every team on the schedule. That's impressive, regardless of who you play. The Tigers have held their last 15 opponents to under 20 points and have held 10 straight to under 200 yards passing. U of SC had just 9 first downs, were just 5-15 on 3rd downs, and averaged only 2.7 YPC..... Paws Up

Derion Kendrick

Kendrick recorded his first pick in this one, and it was a big one. It came on Ryan Hillinski’s second pass attempt and just after the Gamecocks had stopped Clemson on a 4th & Goal from the one. Any early momentum that U of SC might have had from the big goal line stand was gone in an instant..... Paws Up

Isaiah Simmons

Simmons just keeps making his case as the nation’s best defensive player. He was all over the field today making plays. When he wasn’t sacking the QB, or stuffing a running play, he was covering Shi Smith. There isn’t another player in the country with that kind of versatility. He had 10 tackles (7 solo), 2 TFL, and a sack..... Paws Up

Punting

Both of Will Spiers punts today were downed inside the 20. One went for 52 yards. Steven Sawicki’s lone punt was downed inside the 20. For at least one week, Clemson’s embattled punters get..... Paws Up

BT Potter

After drilling a 46-yarder just before halftime, he comes back out in the 4th quarter and misses wide right on a 32-yard attempt. The inconsistencies continue..... Paws Down

Dabo Swinney

Swinney did a little venting after today’s game,

Preach on..... Paws Up

And in other action across the country.....

Alabama

Who would have guessed a Big 12 game would break out in the Iron Bowl? As enjoyable as it was, at the same time it felt odd to see a Nick Saban coached Alabama team keep shooting itself in the foot. QB Mac Jones threw 2 pick six’s and the Tide committed 13 penalties. Penalties that extended drives, and then one at the end the sealed the Auburn win as Alabama had to many men on the field. For the first time in the CFP era, the Tide will not be a part of the field..... Paws Down

ACC

If you wanted evidence before concluding just how bad the ACC has been this season, you got it today. Louisville, one of the better stories in the league this season, got waxed by a terrible Kentucky team. Wake Forest, another bright spot in the league, got beat by Syracuse. FSU got waxed by Florida, and Georgia Tech had their doors blown off by Georgia..... Paws Down