Clemson Tigers

Take heed, Louisville: Deshaun Watson, Clemson just woke up

Published Sep. 23, 2016 12:13 a.m. ET

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ATLANTA -- Dabo Swinney entered Bobby Dodd Stadium two hours before Thursday night's kickoff in a blue suit and orange tie -- you guessed it, Clemson orange -- and stopped to pose for a picture with a pair of fans. He made his way across the field, walking through Georgia Tech's players, who were in the midst of their warm-ups.

Then, fifth-ranked Clemson's coach strolled into the end zone, and he ... just ... stood .. there. For a matter of moments, he was still, maybe simply taking it all in. Then again, Swinney might have been surveying what's been a virtual house of horrors for his Tigers.

In the court of public opinion, Clemson needed to make a statement, what with a now gargantuan meeting with No. 3 Louisville just over a week away, and the defending ACC Tigers looking mortal as they largely sleepwalked their way to 3-0.

Delivering that needed victory in a stadium where it hadn't won in 13 years proved daunting only when it was measured against the past. Clemson thoroughly dominated the Yellow Jackets in every way in rolling 26-7.

"A place we haven't won at very much, so mission accomplished," Swinney said. "Happy to get out of here with a W. It's been a long time. The last time we won here, my son, Clay (who is now 12) was just born. He had a bottle in his mouth. It's been long enough."

Let the hype begin.

A battle of Deshaun Watson vs. Lamar Jackson, Swinney vs. Bobby Petrino, and a chess match between defensive gurus Brent Venables vs. Todd Grantham, all with the driver's seat for the conference's College Football Playoff hopes up for grabs.

But all that can wait, at least for a moment? Can't it?

First, let's appreciate the many ways in which Clemson owned this game after dealing with the heartbreak of bizarre losses in 2005, '07 and '09, a turnover-fueled defeat in '11 and the pain of watching Watson tear his ACL n '11.

The Tigers jumped ahead 14-0, and when the Jackets finally caught a break late in the second quarter with a Lance Austin interception at the goal line -- coming after a communication breakdown between Watson and Mike Williams -- the cornerback went out of the end zone, fumbled and recovered the ball for a safety and a 16-0 Tigers lead.

It was a game summarized in an instant, as through the first quarter, Georgia Tech had minus-1 yard of offense, trailed the Tigers 347-22 at halftime and 442-124 in all.

That Jackets yardage total at the break were the fewest of the Paul Johnson era, and 10 less than the previous low of 32 vs. Iowa in the 2009 Orange Bowl. It was also the second-fewest the Tigers had allowed in 10 years, trailing only 2009 when Boston College was held to minus-2 yards.

Watson -- whose yardage output of 258.6 per game has him well off last year's pace when he became the first FBS player with 4,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing -- looked much closer to quarterback who was third in the Heisman Trophy voting. He threw for a season-high 304 yards on 32 of 48 passing for two scores and that interception, and had 262 yards at halftime, the second-most in a first half in his career. He also ran for 36 yards.

It wasn't perfect, as the Tigers looked somewhat sluggish in the second half and appeared to take their foot off the gas. But the overall strong stat line came against a Jackets defense came in seventh in FBS in scoring defense (10.3) and 26th in yards allowed (305). Though if we're being fare, those statistics had been inflated through wins over Boston College, Mercer and Vanderbilt.

But Watson, a Gainesville, Ga., native, got a much happier homecoming than his freshman season of 2014, when he didn't make it out of the first quarter, suffering that aforementioned knee injury in a 28-6 loss.

"It feels good to get the W," Watson said. "It's always good to come home, of course, and play in front of your friends and family and people you grew up with."

He hit Mike Williams for a 4-yard TD on the opening drive, and Jordan Leggett for a 9-yarder with four second left in the second quarter. In between, Watson missed on a number of deep balls with Williams in single coverage that could have created a score far more in line with the true domination that occurred on The Flats.

"Had a couple miscues on some easy plays, one when the receiver (Williams in the end zone) ran the wrong route," Swinney said. "We had just a couple miscues we've got to get cleaned up."

It was a performance that was made all the easier given how much of the night the Tigers defensive line spent harassing Georgia Tech QB Justin Thomas.

He was sacked twice, and the triple-option triggerman had minus-25 yards on the ground. When the Jackets tried to go to the air, a passing game that entered 117th (140.3) managed just 29 yards with four completions on 13 attempts. The brunt of their damage came in the third quarter, when the Jackets had 107 yards and set up their only score, a 2-yard run by Dedrick Mills.

"Those third-quarter drives sucked," said Tigers linebacker Ben Boulware, who had a team-high 10 tackles. "I wish we would have kept them under 100 yards, at least. ... I knew at some point they were going to get some yardage. But still, (124) yards against a team like that? That's pretty incredible."

It helped the Tigers turn a meeting of unbeatens into a virtual tune-up game ... which brings us to that showdown in Death Valley.

Yes, there's the disclaimer that Louisville still has 1-1 Marshall to deal with Saturday on the road, but who are we kidding? Jackson and his 18 touchdowns and lead in the Heisman race have been the talk of college football. The nation's most prolific (679.3 ypg) and highest-scoring (65 points per game) offense, he and the Cardinals have already taken down previously-No. 2 Florida State, one of a pair of a twin mountains that had seemed unscalable since Louisville joined the ACC.

That other summit, though, is looking more and more daunting.

"We'll be fine. We'll be ready," Watson said. "We don't look at the opponent. We don't look at the rankings. We play to Clemson standard, and that's the best. ... All that other stuff is just noise and for the fans to get excited about."

For good reason, too. But Clemson is still the same team that last December left Charlotte with a conference title. It's still the same Clemson that beat Oklahoma in College Football Playoff semifinals to reach 14-0 and play Alabama for the national title. It's still the same Clemson with a QB that defined the position a year ago.

Don't read too much into that second half. Clemson has confidence, and it appears, it just woke up.

Follow Cory McCartney on Twitter @coryjmccartney and Facebook. His book, 'Tales from the Atlanta Braves Dugout: A Collection of the Greatest Braves Stories Ever Told,' is out now, and 'The Heisman Trophy: The Story of an American Icon and Its Winners' will be released Nov. 22, 2016.

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