Paws Up, Paws Down: Five Bombing The ACC

The Clemson offense put on a clinic in its 62-17 win over Virginia. Trevor Lawrence was dropping dimes, the wide receivers abused the Cavaliers’ secondary, and Travis Etienne was as tough to tackle as ever.

The defense wasn’t as dominant as we have seen most of the season (Virginia exceeded 300 yards), but if this offense keeps playing at the level it is now, the defense doesn’t have to be dominant on every possession. Virginia was able to hit some plays on the Tigers defense, which is something we haven’t seen much this season. Sometimes, you just have to tip your cap.

Virginia came in with a great plan, but it just wasn’t enough. This Clemson team just has too much of an advantage in the talent and depth departments, and as the game wore on, it really started to show. With the win, the Tigers become the first team to win five straight conference championship games.

Trevor Lawrence

Lawrence is rolling right now. He was 16-22 for 302 yards and 4 TDs. Of those six incompletions, three hit guys right in the hands. I only recall one ball being off target all night long. He still hasn’t thrown an interception since the first quarter in Louisville..... Paws Up

Tee Higgins

Tee was an unstoppable force in this game. 9 catches 182 yards, and 3 TDs. Virginia just had no answer for him. He now has 27 career TD catches, putting him in a three way tie for the school record. He also gave us this gem..... Paws Up

Amazing

Pass Rush

For most of the first half, the defense wasn’t able to get much pressure on Virginia QB Bryce Perkins. Xavier Thomas hasn’t totally lived up to the hype yet and KJ Henry is just starting to get on the field more regularly. Brent Venables is having to blitz to get pressure, and even then they weren’t getting home in the first half. They were able to get some in the second half but in the playoff, allowing quarterbacks that kind of time is sub-optimal..... Paws Crossed

Tanner Muse

Tanner got picked on. He is not the guy you want covering the opposing teams better receivers and there were a couple of times the Cavs got that matchup and exploited it. Muse also had a missed tackle that resulted in a big gain. Not his best game in what has otherwise been a stellar season..... Paws Down

And in other conference title games.....

Utah

With a potential playoff spot on the line, the most physical team in the Pac 12 got pushed around by Oregon. The Utes had the nations number one rush defense and the Ducks ran all over them to the tune of 239 yards and almost 6 yards per carry. For the second straight season they had a disappointing performance in the conference title game, and this time it cost them a playoff spot. Not only that, but Oregon got the Rose Bowl bid so Utah is headed to the Alamo Bowl..... Paws Down

Georgia

We have all heard the talk about the stingy Georgia defense. The only problem is the best offenses they had faced all season were Florida and Notre Dame (FEI #22 and #27, respectively) - not exactly high powered offenses.

In the SEC Championship Game they finally ran into an elite, explosive offense in LSU. Joe Burrow ripped the Dawgs defense to shreds, throwing for 349 yards and 4 TDs. That LSU defense that had been giving up chunks of yards most of the season, shut the Georgia running game down. Bulldog running backs combined for just 65 yards on 20 carries, though to be fair, D’Andre Swift had just two carries after being injured last week. Once again, Georgia will have to settle for the title of preseason national champions..... Paws Down