Clemson blasts UVA in ACC Championship: Final Score, Analysis, Stats
The No. 3-ranked Clemson Tigers absolutely dominated the Virginia Cavaliers Saturday night in the ACC Championship, coming away with a 62-17 win.
The Clemson Tigers essentially punched their ticket to the CFB Playoff with a 62-17 drubbing of the Virginia Cavaliers in the ACC Championship Saturday night.
Virginia drove the ball down the field on the first drive of the game, but Nolan Turner came away with an interception in the end zone to leave the Cavaliers empty-handed. Clemson took advantage of the turnover, going on an 80-yard drive that was capped off with a Tee Higgins touchdown reception from Trevor Lawrence.
Higgins would go on to finish the day with nine receptions for 182 yards and three touchdowns, earning MVP Honors for the game.
Clemson took a 31-7 lead into halftime and cruised through the third and fourth quarters, building depth and preparing for their next task.
Here’s a look at the stat leaders and our analysis from the victory.
Stats (Via ESPN):
Passing: Trevor Lawrence (18-of-22 for 302 yards, 4 TDs); Chase Brice (5-of-7 for 106 yards).
Rushing: Travis Etienne (14 carries for 114 yards, 1 TD); Lyn-J Dixon (8 carries for 47 yards, 1 TD).
Receiving: Tee Higgins (9 rec., 182 yards, 3 TDs); Justyn Ross (3 rec., 94 yards, 1 TD)
The Tigers had 619 yards of total offense.
Analysis:
The Clemson offense was unstoppable for basically the entirety of the night. The Tigers punted a grand total of one time and were just too talented, especially in the passing game.
Defensively, Clemson had some troubles getting off the field in the first half and through the early part of the third quarter, but the Tigers found ways to bend and not break. Though they gave up a season-high 387 yards of total offense, the unit forced turnovers and slowly grinded the Virginia offense down to the point where they were having a tough time getting anything going by the middle part of the third quarter.
Overall, this was a dominant victory and what Tiger fans wanted to see in Bank of America Stadium Saturday night. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens in the CFB Playoff here in just a few weeks.