Clemson made quite a statement on Saturday afternoon at Death Valley.
Coming off an open date last weekend, the 21st-ranked Tigers (2-1) opened ACC play with a dominant, 59-35 victory over NC State (2-2).
Clemson picked up right where it left off before the bye week and came out hot against the Wolfpack. The Tigers scored touchdowns on each of their first four possessions and ultimately came just shy of putting 60 points on the board for the second straight contest in what was a beatdown of the Wolfpack that would’ve looked even more lopsided if not for a few fourth-quarter scores against Clemson’s backups.
Not only did the Tigers show they’re a bona fide ACC Championship contender with Saturday’s league win, but Clemson proved it’s capable of competing for a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff as well.
Many viewed Clemson as a playoff contender coming into the season before a 34-3 loss to top-ranked Georgia in the opener raised a lot of question marks and doubts. However, a 66-20 rout over App State on Sept. 7, followed by the drubbing of NC State, has helped ease many concerns about the Tigers in the early going of the 2024 campaign.
Since the aforementioned loss to Georgia, the Tigers have outscored App State and NC State 125-55 over the past two games. According to ABC’s broadcast of the Clemson-NC State game, the Tigers became the first FBS team in the last 20 seasons to lead by 28-plus points after the first quarter of back-to-back games.
Right now, Clemson and Miami appear to be a clear step above everybody else in the ACC and may very well be on a collision course for the conference title game.
As for the expanded playoff, as things stand now, the Tigers certainly look like a team that has a chance to make it. Clemson is playing at a very high level on both sides of the ball, and will be important for Dabo Swinney’s team to continue stacking impressive performances as the Tigers try to earn a berth in the inaugural 12-team playoff after missing the four-team playoff field in each of the last three years.
After notching its 800th victory in school history and becoming the first ACC program to achieve that milestone, Clemson will return to action next Saturday when it hosts new ACC opponent Stanford at Death Valley (7 p.m., ESPN).