Clemson football likely locks up top-4 spot in first 2019 playoff rankings

Clemson football coasted in Week 10 in a blowout of Southern leader Wofford. The Tigers set themselves up well for the first CFP committee rankings.

It is never a good sign when the player on your team with the most yardage is your punter. That was the case for Wofford when the Terriers stayed in South Carolina but punched up from the FCS to take on defending College Football Playoff national champion Clemson on Saturday afternoon. Unable to get anything done on offense, Luke Carter was the most remarkable player for the Terriers in the 59-14 blowout in Week 10.

Carter launched off nine punts over the course of the game, averaging 44 yards per kick and pinning Clemson inside their own 20 on five of his nine efforts. By the end of the game, Carter finished with 396 yards of punt distance as his moonshots resulted in half again as much yardage as the offense managed all day long.

Travis Etienne was a beast against the overmatched Wofford defense, racking up 212 yards and two touchdowns in just his nine carries in the rout. Lyn-J Dixon added seven carries for 50 yards and a touchdown, and both Darien Rencher and Trevor Lawrence also punched in rushing scores as the Tigers finished with 419 rushing yards on 11.9 yards per carry as a team.

Trevor Lawrence also put up a strong showing throwing the ball, looking more like the Heisman threat he was expected to be from the outset this year. Lawrence went 12-of-16 for 218 yards and three passing touchdowns before exiting the game for Chase Brice. The backup quarterback added 65 yards on 7-of-11 passing to keep the engine humming along in the blowout.

What really made this otherwise unremarkable beatdown of an in-state pretender to the throne was the way the defense showed up for Clemson. That is going to give the College Football Playoff selection committee something to think about when they finally release their first set of rankings on Tuesday. Despite having issues over the course of the year, Dabo Swinney’s team is now the first Power Five team to 9-0 and on pace to roll through the ACC yet again this year.

Wofford put up just 256 total yards of offense on Saturday. The Terriers backfield took a committee approach to breaking down the Tigers defense, but all that amounted to was 139 yards and one touchdown on 45 carries. Wofford quarterback Joe Newman, completed just three of his nine passes for 111 yards with one touchdown but also one interception.

It was an impressive display from the defending champs as they hope to make a statement and land in the initial top four in the only poll that really matters much to fans and teams alike in the College Football Playoff era. Clemson probably locked down their top-four spot in the committee’s eyes as they did exactly what one expects of a championship-caliber team in a mismatch against an FCS team, even one that is currently the co-leader in its conference.