Super Stars and Future Stars: No. 3 Clemson blasts Pitt, 52-17

On a day set aside to celebrate Clemson’s seniors, a trio of young stars helped kickstart the No. 3 Tigers 52-17 blowout win over Pitt as true freshmen Trenton Simpson, Malcolm Greene, and E.J. Williams all had key plays early, showing that the future continues to be bright in Tiger Town.

While the toasts of the town, Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne, made what everyone assumes is their final home performance, the rest of Dabo Swinney’s hungry bunch of Tigers jumped on the Panthers in a blink with a relentless barrage of plays on both sides of the ball.

Pitt’s two opening drives were both ended at the hands of true freshman-- the first being an 11-yard sack from rising star Trenton Simpson. The Panthers’ second possession was shut down by a Malcolm Greene interception, his first career pick, but the youngsters weren’t done getting things cranked up on Senior Day.

“I love how we were ready. It was an amazing start...we did a lot of great things-- a lot of big plays. The turnovers defensively gave us some great field position,” Swinney noted.

On the ensuing possession, Lawrence found another true freshman, E.J. Williams, wearing No. 39 to honor his father, the late Sgt. 1st Class Eddie Williams Sr., to open the scoring, giving Clemson a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a beautiful pitch and catch. 

Williams’ touchdown wasn’t the end of his big plays. On Clemson’s next possession, the Phenix City, AL, native skied for a 32-yard reception while being drilled by a Panther defender, showcasing himself to the Tiger faithful. At that moment, Williams looked like his former high school teammate Justyn Ross who emerged as a target for Lawrence during Clemson’s run to the 2018 National Title.

Questions about how Lawrence, a Heisman candidate, would look after a five-week absence, were quickly silenced as the Cartersville, GA native put together a spectacular performance. The 6’6 gunslinger finished the game 26-37 for 403 yards with two touchdowns, but he didn’t’ put to rest a possible return.

"You just never know, but if it is, it was a fun one for sure. I've enjoyed it. This place has been so good to me and my family,” Lawrence noted. “I love it here. So whatever, whatever I decide to do, it's gonna be a tough decision for people, but yeah, this was a good one."

Lawrence’s 403 yards passing is just one yard shy of his career-best set earlier this season at Georgia Tech. 

“Trevor, awesome-- great having him back,” Swinney said, reflecting on Lawrence’s day. “Threw for a lot of yards, got some good balance today. Just a great team win.”

It was clear at the end of the first quarter that the Tigers had been chomping at the bit to play after a 21-day layoff. They put together the most prolific first quarter in school history by taking a 31-0 lead in less than fifteen minutes of play.

As for the Clemson seniors- who finished undefeated at home- the first group to achieve that feat since Oklahoma and Boise State did it a decade ago, also became the first set of Tigers never to be defeated in Death Valley (1942), going a perfect 27-0 at home.  

Clemson senior Cornell Powell had a record-setting performance at wide receiver as well. Powell has blossomed this season and became just the third wideout in school history with back-to-back 150+ yard performances joining Sammy Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins in that elite group finishing the day with 6 receptions, 176 yards, and one touchdown.

During Pitt’s next possession, the Panther’s dialed up a flea-flicker, but Pickett’s pass was intercepted by Andrew Booth Jr. Four plays later, the Tigers countered with a flea-flicker of their own when Lawrence hit Powell for a 43-yard scoring strike and a 17-0 lead.

After the game, offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said that call was all Coach Swinney.

"Hey, I'm gonna give that one to Coach Swinney, you know, Coach Swinney said, 'Hey, I want to...I want the flea-flicker.' A little professional courtesy right there. Definitely, something we had in the plan."

Things in the opening frame didn’t get any better for the Panthers or quarterback Kenny Pickett as he promptly tossed his third interception of the game on the next drive. Clemson’s Mario Goodrich made a great play stepping in front of a throw towards the sidelines, putting the ball back in Lawrence’s hands. 

Carl Ackerman

K.J. Henry leaps onto Mario Goodrich’s back after the defensive back made one of his two interceptions on Saturday.

It didn’t take long for the lead to expand to 24-0 as Clemson raced 35-yards on five plays capped by a 2-yard Travis Etienne score with 4:55 left in the opening quarter. A Lyn-J Dixon rush capped the historic first quarter with a 1-yard score expanding the lead to 31-0 with 0:05 still on the clock.

After giving up a field goal, Lawrence and Co. struck again, quickly finding Powell for a 70-yard bomb putting the Tigers back in scoring position. With the reception, Powell tied a Clemson record with his third consecutive 100+ yard performance, joining only Charlie Waters (1969), Tony Horne (1997), Rod Gardner (2000), DeAndre Hopkins (2012), and Sammy Watkins (2013) as Tigers to achieve the mark. 

Sophomore Chez Mellusi made it 38-3, finishing the drive with a 2-yard carry.

Powell wasn’t the only star for Tyler Grisham’s wideout group as Amari Rodgers also had a big day racking up 10 receptions for 93 yards and one touchdown-- in addition, the senior receiver had another beautiful diving reception ripped from the scoreboard due to a penalty in the second half.

While Clemson’s pace slowed considerably after halftime, it was Lawrence making a huge 3rd down conversion reminding everyone who the best player on the field was, making multiple Panthers miss, on a ‘will to win’ type play signifying why the Tigers have become so consistent. 

In the end, Etienne, his partner in the backfield, closed the third quarter with one last rushing touchdown in Memorial Stadium.

Later, Goodrich snagged his second interception of the game before true freshman D.J. Uiagalelie entered at quarterback, leading another Tiger scoring drive. 

In the end, the Tigers had converted Pickett’s four interceptions into 28 points leading to another substantial blowout and an opportunity to celebrate the seniors, including senior Josh Jackson, who had his first career reception.

"In a game like this, it's Senior Day. You're trying to get my man Josh Jackson-- I think that's his first career catch, has been here four years grinding his tail off. He's a guy that the team loves,” Swinney said. “It's just awesome to see him-- I don't know if we got a yard, but he got a catch for the Tigers, and nobody ever be able to take that away from him.”

In the final moments, Kane Patterson returned a Panther fumble to the one-yard line after a review showed his knee went down just short of the endzone. Attempts to get senior Darien Rencher a touchdown on Senior Day were thwarted as the last seconds of his home career ticked away.

The Tigers now travel to Blacksburg to face Virginia Tech in what could be their final regular-season game.