Clemson sleepwalks past Virginia: Final Score, Stats & Analysis

Clemson sleepwalks past Virginia: Final Score, Stats & Analysis

Though it seemed like the Clemson football team was sleep-walking through much of the game, the Tigers ultimately came away with a 41-23 victory over the Virginia Cavaliers to remain perfect on the season.

On the first play of the game, Lyn-J Dixon burst down to midfield on his opening kick return, but the Tigers were not able to capitalize and had to settle for a field goal. Following a few trading of punts, Clemson football found the end zone on a 16-yard run from Travis Etienne to take a 10-0 lead into halftime.

Virginia would answer with a field goal before Clemson drove back down the field and capped off the 75-yard drive with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Trevor Lawrence to Amari Rodgers. Lawrence would then find Rodgers again on a touchdown following an interception by Nolan Turner to make it 24-3. Though the Tigers had a chance to potentially put the game away on a late drive in the first half, they went 3-and-out and punted the ball back to the Cavaliers, who drove the ball right down the field and scored to make it 24-10 heading into the half.

Virginia drove down the field on its first drive of the second half, but Andrew Booth Jr. came away with a spectacular one-handed grab in the end zone to end those hopes and Clemson added a field goal to make it 27-10. But that wouldn’t be the end, either.

Virginia answered with a touchdown of its own to make it 27-17 with just over six minutes to go in the third quarter.

Just when Virginia seemed to be creeping back in, Clemson went on a 65-yard drive that ended with a 4-yard pass from Lawrence to Etienne to push the lead back to 34-17. Chez Mellusi added a touchdown on a two-yard rush with 5:27 remaining to make it 41-17. Virginia would score a late touchdown to make the score 41-23.

Stat Leaders & Analysis from Clemson’s win over Virginia

Passing: Trevor Lawrence 25-of-38 for 329 yards and three TDs.

Rushing: Travis Etienne 14 carries for 73 yards, 1 TD.

Receiving: Etienne 5 catches for 114 yards, 1 TD; Amari Rodgers 6 catches for 72 yards and 2 TDs; Frank Ladson Jr. 5 catches for 71 yards.

Analysis:

A win is a win and that’s great, but let’s not pretend that there weren’t some legitimate problems that presented themselves over the course of this game.

The offensive line didn’t get much of a push all night long against the Virginia defensive line and, in turn, the Tiger defensive line didn’t create much pressure or havoc in the backfield, either. When the Tigers did get in the backfield, Virginia QB Brennan Armstrong was elusive and took off, finding plenty of open running room in front of him.

The Tiger offense found itself in way too many 3rd-and-long situations and much of that has to do with the inability to establish any kind of a running game up the middle. There’s no doubt the offensive line has to get better if they’re wanting to become a championship-level line.

Now, for a few positives:

• Amari Rodgers & Travis Etienne were absolutely explosive all night long
• Trevor Lawrence continued to show great accuracy and poise even with pressure in his face
• B.T. Potter remained perfect on the season and looks like a different kicker, in my opinion, in terms of confidence. His leg is powerful and his accuracy has been right on through the first three games.
• The secondary took steps forward, though they’ve still got work to do, especially in zone coverage.
• Clemson won the turnover battle, which is always one of the top priorities for the Tigers in any game.

In the end, the Tigers came away with a win but there’s no doubt that there’s work to do moving forward.

Clemson will take on a top-10 team in Miami next Saturday in a game that will be televised live on ABC at 7:30 p.m. back in Death Valley.