NCAAF Game Recap - Virginia at Clemson
Sat Oct 3, 2020 8:00 PM EDT

UVA
23
Clem
41
F
TxAM
24
Bama
52
F
SCar
24
Fla
38
F
Aub
6
UGA
27
F
TCU
33
Tex
31
F
Tuls
34
UCF
26
F
UNC
26
BC
22
F
SoFL
7
Cin
28
F
Ark
21
MissSt
14
F
OkSt
47
Kans
7
F
Okla
30
IASt
37
F
LSU
41
Vand
7
F
MIZ
12
Tenn
35
F
LT
14
BYU
45
F
NCSt
30
Pitt
29
F
Mem
27
SMU
30
F
Camp
14
Wake
66
F
ArkSt
23
CoCar
52
F
Bayl
21
WVU
27
F(1OT)
ECU
29
GASt
49
F
UTSA
13
UAB
21
F
N AL
7
Lib
28
F
Abil
23
Army
55
F
TxTch
21
K St
31
F
JacSt
24
FlaSt
41
F
Miss
42
KY
41
F OT
VaTec
38
Duke
31
F
UNCC
17
FlAtl
21
F
W Ky
20
MidTN
17
F
Navy
7
AF
40
F
GaSo
35
ULMon
30
F
SMiss
41
NorTx
31
F

Oct 3, 2020, 8:00 PM EDT

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Virginia (1-1)

0

10

7

6

23

(1) Clemson (3-0)

10

14

10

7

41

Lawrence's 3 TDs lead No. 1 Clemson to 41-23 win vs Virginia
Sun Oct 4, 2020 12:51 AM

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) Trevor Lawrence was happy with Clemson's win over Virginia. He was also glad the top-ranked Tigers were challenged a bit this early in the season.

Lawrence threw for 329 yards and three touchdowns as Clemson opened 3-0 for the sixth straight year with a 41-23 victory over the Cavaliers on Saturday night.

The Tigers (3-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) were not crisp at times against Virginia (1-1, 1-1). However, like so often the past few years when pressed, Clemson and Lawrence found what it took to succeed.

"I guess we're in a pretty good position when we're kind of disappointed in an 18-point" win, Lawrencre said. "I'm really glad we got challenged in some new ways. Part of being a great team is making adjustments and getting better."

A big part is having talented players like Lawrence, tailback Travis Etienne and receiver Amari Rodgers.

Etienne ran for 115 yards and a score. He also caught a 4-yard scoring pass. Rodgers had two TD catches in the final six minutes of the opening half to give Clemson a 24-3 lead that Virginia could not overcome.

"They jump out on teams so quickly, they put you on your heels and never let you recover," Cavaliers coach Bronco Mendenhall said.

Virginia tried, though, cutting it to 27-17 midway through the third period. That's when Lawrence found Etienne for a final scoring throw to restore Clemson's momentum.

It took some time for Clemson to fire up after returning from a bye week. The Tigers led just 3-0 in the first quarter when Etienne went for a 16-yard scoring run - nearly losing his balance after a couple of hits before powering into the end zone. Lawrence and Rodgers opened things up with a pair of scoring passes in the final six minutes before halftime.

Virginia, pounded by the Tigers 62-17 last December in the ACC Championship game, fought back to make it 27-17 midway through the third, but Lawrence found Etienne near the goal line for a 4-yard scoring pass.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney compared the game to taking "a little Robitussin" for a cough with his team's stumbles.

Still, Swinney said his players came out with a win and will learn from this one. "We have a lot to improve on," he said. "We are going to have to improve."

It was the 38th game with at least one touchdown for Etienne, matching the all-time mark shared by Florida's Tim Tebow and Louisiana Tech's Kenneth Dixon.

"I think he just gets into a zone every time he touches the ball," Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said of Etienne.

Lawrence extended his streak of pass attempts without an interception to 314, spanning his past nine games.

Virginia, which was nearly doubled up in total yards in the conference title game, hung tough throughout and forced Clemson's front-line starters to play deep into the final quarter for the first time this season.

The Cavaliers put up 417 yards, the most given up by Clemson in an ACC game the last two seasons, and outgained the Tigers on the ground, 147-137.

Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong threw for 270 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions.

Armstrong thought the Cavaliers had a chance with their strong opening drive of the second half that ended with Clemson defensive back Andrew Booth's one-handed interception in the end zone.

"If we had scored there, we would have had good momentum and the outcome of the game" could've been different, he said.

THE TAKEAWAY

Virginia: Mendenhall saw improvement out of his team from its last loss to Clemson. While certainly not pleased with the end result, he had to take satisfaction with his team's effort in this one.

Clemson: The Tigers have typically had one early ACC game each season in which things do not follow the pound-the-opponent script of the past five years. And typically, Clemson tightens up its mistakes and moves forward in a big way. Two years ago, Clemson escaped Syracuse with a 27-23 victory and last year it held off North Carolina, 21-20. Both times, the Tigers went on to an ACC championship in dominating fashion.

SOCIAL JUSTICE EFFORTS

Clemson continued its social justice initiatives with several players wearing messages on their jerseys where their names usually are. Etienne wore "Peace" on his uniform while Rodgers and backup runner Lyn-J Dixon wore "Equality." The move came a few days after Swinney said he wasn't in favor of social justice or any messages on uniforms because he's a traditionalist when it comes to the look of a college jersey.

ONE-HANDED PICK

Booth made an incredible Odell Beckham Jr.-like grab for an end-zone interception that ended a strong, third-quarter drive for the Cavaliers. Booth, you might remember, was made to ride the team managers' bus home from Louisville instead of the team plane last season when he was ejected for hitting a Cardinals player in the helmet.

UP NEXT

Virginia is home against North Carolina State next Saturday.

Clemson has another night home game, this one against No. 8 Miami next Saturday.

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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Passing

UVA Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
B. Armstrong 43 24 55.8 3 270 31 2 78.6
Clem Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
T. Lawrence 38 25 65.8 3 329 46 0 119.3
D. Uiagalelei 1 1 100.0 0 0 0 0 79.2

Rushing

UVA Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
B. Armstrong 22 89 4.0 28 0
W. Taulapapa 13 47 3.6 9 0
Clem Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
T. Etienne 14 73 5.2 17 1
T. Lawrence 6 36 6.0 22 0

Receiving

UVA Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
B. Kemp IV 10 96 9.6 22 0
L. Davis Jr. 2 58 29.0 31 0
Clem Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
T. Etienne 5 114 22.8 46 1
A. Rodgers 6 72 12.0 27 2

Fumbles

UVA F FL
S. Simpson 1 0

Returning

UVA KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
S. Simpson 1 18.0 0 13 0 0 0
Clem KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
L. Dixon 1 52.0 0 52 0 0 0
A. Rodgers 0 0 0 1 9.0 0 0

Punting

UVA Punt Yds Avg LgPu
N. Griffin 4 186 46.5 55
Clem Punt Yds Avg LgPu
W. Spiers 3 115 38.3 43

Takeaways

Clem Int Yds InTD
A. Booth Jr. 1 0 0
N. Turner 1 0 0

Team Stats Comparison

UVA Clem
Points For 23 41
Total Yards 417 466
Rushing Yards 147 137
Passing Yards 270 329
Passing Completions / Attempts 24/43 26/39
Turnovers 2 0
Interceptions Thrown 2 0
Fumbles - Lost 1/0 0/0
First Downs 25 22
Penalties - Yards 1/15 8/65
Time Of Possession 17:17 43:43
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 6/16 8/15
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 4/5 0/0
Punts - Average Yards 0/0 0/0

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter UVA Clem
Clem 01:36 FG B.T. Potter 47 yd FG 0 3
Clem 14:38 TD Travis Etienne 16 yd run (B.T. Potter kick) 0 10
2nd Quarter UVA Clem
UVA 05:22 FG Brian Delaney 27 yd FG 3 10
Clem 09:37 TD Amari Rodgers 27 yd pass from Trevor Lawrence (B.T. Potter kick) 3 17
Clem 11:35 TD Amari Rodgers 9 yd pass from Trevor Lawrence (B.T. Potter kick) 3 24
UVA 14:19 TD Terrell Jana 23 yd pass from Brennan Armstrong (Brian Delaney kick) 10 24
3rd Quarter UVA Clem
Clem 04:27 FG B.T. Potter 42 yd FG 10 27
UVA 08:55 TD Keytaon Thompson 3 yd pass from Brennan Armstrong (Brian Delaney kick) 17 27
Clem 11:06 TD Travis Etienne 4 yd pass from Trevor Lawrence (B.T. Potter kick) 17 34
4th Quarter UVA Clem
Clem 09:33 TD Chez Mellusi 2 yd run (B.T. Potter kick) 17 41
UVA 13:49 TD Tony Poljan 5 yd pass from Brennan Armstrong (failed 2pt pass) 23 41

Game Information

Stadium: Memorial Stadium, Clemson, South Carolina
Attendance: 18,735
Game Time:
Weather: