Clemson silences Miami: Final Score, Stats & Analysis

Clemson silences Miami with the eyes of the nation watching

The No. 1-ranked Clemson Tigers were having absolutely none of the No. 7-ranked Miami Hurricanes’ chatter Saturday evening on their way to a dominating  42-17 victory that really wasn’t even that close.

Clemson got the scoring started off on the first drive of the game when Trevor Lawrence found Braden Galloway on a set-up screen play that went for 24 yards and a touchdown. Travis Etienne found the end zone on a two-yard run with 14:54 remaining in the second quarter to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead before Miami finally got on the board with a field goal with 3:53 remaining in the first half.

Clemson answered on the ensuing drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Lawrence to Galloway to take a 21-3 lead, but got a little greedy after a stop and attempted a 61-yard field goal right before the end of the half. Unfortunately, that kick would be blocked and taken back for a touchdown, giving Miami new life trailing 21-10 at halftime.

That’s about as close as the Hurricanes would get, though.

Etienne broke off a 72-yard TD with 7:56 remaining in the third quarter and then Lawrence powered into the end zone after calling his own number to give the Tigers a 35-10 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Both teams would score a touchdown in the fourth quarter after the game had been decided and that’s how we would end up with the 42-17 final score.

Stat Leaders & Analysis from Clemson’s dominating victory over Miami

Passing: Trevor Lawrence 29-of-41 for 292 yards and three TDs.

Rushing: Travis Etienne 17 carries for 149 yards and 2 TDs; Lawrence 8 carries for 34 yards and 1 TD; D.J. Uiagalelei 2 carries for 17 yards.

Receiving: Braden Galloway 4 receptions for 74 yards, 2 TDs; Etienne 8 receptions for 73 yards; Amari Rodgers 7 receptions for 62 yards; Frank Ladson Jr. 3 receptions for 43 yards; Davis Allen 1 reception for 22 yards, 1 TD.

Clemson had 550 yards of total offense and gave up just 220 yards of offense on the night. The Tigers forced three turnovers and lost on one a Lawrence fumble.

Analysis:

Clemson came into this one looking to leave no doubt and the Tigers did just that.

There had been talk all week about how Miami could potentially keep this one close and how the Hurricanes could even make it interesting, but the truth is pretty simple: The gap between the programs was noticeably wide Saturday evening.

Clemson is continuing to prove why it’s the premiere program of College Football and the Tigers just did that on a huge national stage.

There were a few things that you would’ve liked to have seen different and there were several times- in the second and third quarters, particularly- that the Tigers had a chance to put the game away and seemingly let Miami stay in it, but in the end, they came away with a dominant victory and that’s a testament to the focus, experience and talent of this team.

Clemson will be back in action at 12 p.m. next Saturday to take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.