Lawrence, Clemson rout Miami
CLEMSON, S.C. — Trevor Lawrence threw three touchdowns passes and rushed for another as No. 1 Clemson proved once more who’s boss in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 42-17 beatdown of seventhranked Miami on Saturday night.
Travis Etienne rushed for 149 yards and two scores, including a 72-yard burst down the left sidelines as the Tigers opened 4-0 for a sixth straight season.
This is was billed as an ACC showdown where the Hurricanes (3-1, 2-1 ACC) could prove the swagger had truly returned to “The U.”
Instead, Miami’s offense was suffocated by the Tigers (3-0 ACC) and held without an offensive touchdown until the fourth quarter.
Hurricanes quarterback D’Eriq King came in alongside Lawrence as the ACC’s dominant, dynamic playmakers. The Houston transfer, though, was swarmed by Clemson all game and completed just 12 of 28 passes for 121 yards and his first two interceptions of the season.
Miami entered as the ACC leader in offense at 499 yards a game. It was held to 210 and never truly came close to challenging the Tigers.
“I cannot fault our effort, but our discipline in terms of doing things right made it very difficult to execute against a topranked team on the road,“Hurricanes coach Manny Diaz said.
Clemson got out fast with touchdowns on its first two drives, on tight end Braden Galloway’s 24-yard catch and a 2-yard run by Etienne.
Etienne, the two-time ACC player of the year who returned for his senior season, became college football’s all-time leader with a score in his 39th career game. He broke a three-way tie he was in with Florida’s Tim Tebow and Louisiana Tech’s Kenneth Dixon.
Another Galloway TD catch, this one from 11 yards, put Clemson ahead 21-3 with 1:14 remaining in the half.
But perhaps Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s desire to smother the ‘Canes led to a horrendous mistake as the half ended.
Swinney sent kicker B.T. Potter out for a 61-yard field field with 3 seconds remaining. But Potter’s kick was blocked and bounced into the arms of DJ
Ivey, who took it 48 yards for a touchdown.
Miami rushed off the field in celebration while the reduced crowd at Death Valley — less than quarter of its 81,500 capacity — sat stunned.
Swinney, the two-time national championship coach, called it “as bad a decision (as) I’ve made.”
Any Miami “mo” quickly disappeared in the third quarter with three straight three-and-outs, including tailback Jaylan Knighton getting stuffed for no gain on fourth-and-short on the Hurricanes’ 34.
Etienne ended most of the drama with his 72-yard burst down the left sideline to put Clemson up 28-10.
About the only other troubling moment for Clemson came when Lawrence was on the ground grabbing his leg after getting hit in the third quarter. The nervous crowd sat silent as the training staff surrounded the likely No. 1 pick in next year’s NFL draft.
Lawrence, though, popped up and ran off to the sidelines on his own. Moments later, Lawrence rushed for a 4-yard TD, spiked the ball and stared down a Miami defender — and got called for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said Lawrence had the wind knocked out of him and his quick return uplifted the Tigers.
“It just resonates throughout the whole locker room, the whole team,” Elliott said.
Lawrence ended with 292 yards, completing 29 of 41 and went without an interception for a 12th straight game.
NO. 2 ALABAMA 63 MISSISSIPPI 48
In Oxford, Miss., Mac Jones was 28 of 32 for 417 yards and
two touchdowns, and Najee Harris rushed 23 times for 206 yards and scored five touchdowns as the Crimson Tide (3-0) downed the Rebels (1-2) and Lane Kiffin as Nick Saban improved to 21-0 against his former assistants.
NO. 3 GEORGIA 44 NO. 14 TENNESSEE 21
Stetson Bennett threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score, and host Georgia bounced back from Tennessee’s goal-line stand on the final play of the first half, dominating the final 30 minutes.
The Bulldogs (3-0) knocked off a ranked Southeastern Conference team for the second week in a row, shaking off a a 21-17 deficit to completely wipe out the Volunteers over the final two quarters.
Showing it’s still not ready to compete with the league’s top programs, Tennessee (2-1, 2-1) turned it over three times and managed just 71 yards total offense in the second half.
NO. 5 NOTRE DAME 42 FLORIDA STATE 26
In South Bend, Ind., Kyren Williams ran for 185 yards and two touchdowns and safety Shaun Crawford helped thwart a potential Florida State rally with a goal-line interception.
Williams fumbled at his own 32 on the second play from scrimmage, then riddled Florida State the rest of the way, picking up 130 yards and both his TDs by halftime as the Fighting Irish (3-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) took a 35-20 lead.
Ian Book completed 16 of 25 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 58 yards and another score.
NO. 13 AUBURN 30, ARKANSAS 28
Anders Carlson made the most of his second chance, hitting a 39-yard field goal with 7 seconds left to lift No. 13 Auburn in Auburn, Ala. The Tigers (2-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) narrowly avoided a second straight loss, with drama and uncertainty continuing right up to that winning kick.
This time Carlson delivered after missing a 34-yard field goal wide right with 2:38 left. Auburn’s defense had forced a three and out, and the Tigers got the ball back at the 45 of the Razorbacks.