Good, Bad and Ugly
The Clemson Tigers showed America why they are currently ranked #1 with a dominating win over #7 Miami. This is truly a game that had Good, Bad and really Ugly. Many Clemson fans made the mistake of reading the Miami press and headlines. D’Eriq King came into the game a media darling and a supposed “Heisman” candidate. The 5-11 203 lb Miami quarterback was held in check all night aside from two plays. Two.
Let’s talk about the Ugly first. “Ugly” rightfully fits the way the Miami Hurricane defense played all night. There were two targeting calls made by the officials, but there were two or three more NOT called. Miami came in trying to intimidate with smack talking and cheap shots. Manny Diaz does not have control of his team. The infamous “turnover chain” makes his players look like clowns. On Trevor Lawrences’ fumble, the Miami sideline surely didn’t look like a team that was getting dominated on the field. Ok, I get it, these are teenagers and they are having fun. I get it. However, when you are getting your butts handed to you, this is not the way to act. Old school.
The “Bad” was obvious: placekicking with three blocked field goals, one returned for a touchdown right before the half. I don’t think this has ever happened before in Clemson’s history. Coach Swinney took the blame but the block was not on him. Had the OL blocked better, and Potter had MADE a 61-yard field goal, it would have been seen as a GREAT call. The OL on the right side of the kicking team needs to be shored up somehow. Guaranteed, the coaching staff will get this fixed by next week.
The “Good” was all over the field. I saved the best for last. Co-Heisman candidates Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne simply showed why Clemson is considered widely as the best team in college football this year. Lawrence took cheap shot after cheap shot, keeping his poise and leading the team to a big victory. He completed 29 of 41 passes for 292 yards and 3 touchdowns. He now has thrown 355 straight passes without an interception. Travis Etienne had a breakout game, outgaining the entire Miami offense 213-210. He rushed 17 times for 149 yards, and hauled in 8 passes for another 74 yards. Tight ends were on the receiving end of all three TD passes by Lawrence.The offensive line boasts four new starters this year and they are beginning to gell.
The defense? They deserve their own paragraph. D’Eriq King came into the game as the savior Miami has been waiting for. A transfer from Houston was supposed to be the answer this year for hurricanes. His 1st 3 games, he blew it out. He completed 63% of his passes, threw for 736 yards, six touchdowns and ZERO interceptions. King was called “the truth” by many Miami fans. While King may have been “the truth”, Trevor Lawrence is the “absolute truth” and Coach Brent Venables simply showed why he is the best Defensive Coordinator in the business. King completed 12 of 28 for 121 yards and two interceptions (42 yards on one play). He also rushed for 84 yards on 14 carries, but consider, he got 56 on one rush. Basically, he got 28 yards on his other 13 rushes. The tiger defense played their best game of the year against a potent Miami offense. Tyler Davis made his presence known coming back from injury. Baylon Spector probably had the best game of his career, getting 5 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss. Add it all up, Clemson was ready for Miami’s offense. As a team, the tigers had 5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss and three interceptions.
Next up for the tigers, Georgia Tech. The yellow jackets are coming off of a big victory over Louisville last Friday night. Freshman Jeff Sims is a highly talented freshman quarterback and had a great game against Louisville. Having said that, everyone seems to have great games against Louisville.
