Clemson Storms Past The Hurricanes

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The ACC had the national TV prime time spot on Saturday, with a top 10 matchup between the No. 7 Miami Hurricanes and top ranked Clemson Tigers.

By the end of the night, Clemson had firmly established themselves as the class of the ACC yet again with a 42-17 win.

Here are 3 takeaways from the Tigers' big-time blowout victory.

1. Trevor Lawrence is pretty, pretty good

Breaking news: Trevor Lawrence can really play football.

The projected top overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and a leading Heisman candidate, Lawrence showed once again why he is so highly touted on the big stage tonight.

Lawrence completed 29-of-41 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns, demonstrating a complete mastery of the Clemson offense and dominating the Hurricanes.

Lawrence even added a rushing touchdown for good measure.

He was nearly flawless Saturday, and has been so far this season, now having thrown 10 touchdown passes with zero interceptions through three games.

2. Travis Etienne can't be slowed down

While Lawrence garners most of the headlines for Clemson, and rightfully so, don't forget about their running back Travis Etienne.

Etienne returned to Clemson for his senior year after rushing for 1,614 yards and 19 touchdowns as a junior, and that spelled bad news for defenses in the ACC.

For the night, Etienne recorded 149 yards on just 17 carries while scoring two touchdowns. 

The performance was so dominant that he caught the attention of one of the NFL's premier playmakers, Odell Beckham Jr.

Clemson's passing attack is going to keep defensive coordinators up at night all season, but their dominant running game led by Etienne is only going to compound issues for opposing defenses.

3. Clemson's defense dominates

While the Clemson offense provided plenty of highlights for the night, their defense created a few themselves.

Miami had scored 31, 47, and 52 points in consecutive weeks to start the season but against the Tigers, their offense was stuck in neutral, scoring only one touchdown.

The Tigers were also able to claim the first two interceptions of the season from Hurricane's quarter back D'Eriq King.

For the night, the Tigers were able to force three turnovers, and hold the Hurricanes to 210 total yards of offense.

The defensive performance, combined with their offensive output, displayed why the Clemson Tigers are the top ranked team in the country.

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