Clemson needs to ride Travis Etienne to win vs. Virginia

Travis Etienne needs to be the focal point of Clemson’s offense against Virginia.

Clemson football outplayed and outcoached the Virginia Cavaliers the last time these two teams played one another in the 2019 ACC Championship game. In the 62-17 beatdown, an ACC Championship record for Clemson, Trevor Lawrence threw for 302 yards and four touchdowns. Etienne had 14 carries for 114 yards and a touchdown. Tee Higgins took home the ACC Championship MVP with a nine reception, 182-yard and three-touchdown performance.

The Tigers were too much for the Cavaliers on both sides of the ball. As far as the running game is concerned, the Tigers were able to run rampant on the Cavaliers defense out of the shotgun and other formations by way of the run-pass option scheme. Having multiple players in the backfield confuses the defense and can create mismatches. The Tigers took advantage of that time and time again.

Etienne had a stellar 2019 season as he recorded 2,046 scrimmage yards (1,614 rushing yards, 432 receiving yards) and found the end zone 23 times. He has been a model of excellence and consistency in three years with Clemson football.

He earned ACC Player of the Year as a sophomore and junior (2018, 2019) and became the first player to win the award back-to-back since Mike Voight did it during the 1975 and 76 seasons.

Etienne holds the school and ACC record for rushing touchdowns (57), total touchdowns (63) and points by a non-kicker (378). He is the nation’s leader in those categories in addition to career rushing yards (4,208).

Clemson football needs to give Etienne the ball and let him do his thing

Etienne is a playmaker and once he gets the ball, be prepared to see a great play made. He is an efficient runner inside and outside the tackles that turns on the speed when he sees daylight. The 5-foot-10, 205-pounder from Louisiana, can elude tackles with ease and run through defenders if he has too. Because of his speed and quickness, screens are fun to watch and when he shows his breakaway speed, you understand just how good of a runner he is.

He already has a 100-yard game that came in the season opener against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. In order for the Cavaliers defense to stop Etienne from having a big day, it will start up front. The Cavaliers have to be faster to the gaps when they open up for him to run through and they need to have a plan in place if he is split out wide as a receiver. He can catch the football well also.

He will be up against a Virginia Cavaliers defense that has eight returning starters including Zane Zandier, Joey Blount, Charles Snowden, De’Vante Cross and Noah Taylor. Zandier led the defense in tackles with 108 last season as a junior and Taylor finished second on the defense in sacks with seven.

This is also a defense last year that was second in the ACC with 45 sacks and fifth in rushing defense with 130 yards per game. They will have a challenge on their hands once again trying to stop Etienne, but the good news is that they don’t have to deal with Higgins and Justyn Ross carving up the secondary.

The Tigers win this game if Etienne has a 100-yard rushing day against the Cavaliers. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Clemson could lose. Keep in mind, Virginia only allowed 56 total rushing yards and 1.5 yards per rush in their season-opening win vs. Duke. They have something to prove defensively so this should be a good ACC clash to watch. Clemson football will play the Cavaliers Saturday at 8 p.m. on ACC Network.

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