For the third straight game, it wasn't always pretty for No. 1 Clemson. For the third straight game, the outcome was never in doubt as the defending national champions cruised beat Syracuse 41-6 on Saturday night, improving to 3-0.

Sure, there were some major highlights on offense, but it was the defense, once again, that carried the day for the Tigers.

Trevor Lawrence put together a Heisman Trophy-worthy 395 yards passing and three touchdowns, but his two interceptions brought him to five on the season, more than he had in all of 2018. Travis Etienne was limited to 76 yards rushing on 14 carries and got held out of the end zone. While Tee Higgins (seven catches for 150 yards) and Amari Rodgers (four catches for 121 yards and two scores) had monster performances, none of it matched the defensive dominance.

Syracuse was held to 15 rushing yards on the night and only 187 yards of total offense. In four trips to the red zone, the Orange kicked two field goals, threw an interception and turned the ball over on downs. A matchup that Syracuse won two years ago and nearly won again last year never got competitive because that Clemson defense shut the door whenever a glimmer of light seeped in.

Next up for Clemson is Charlotte, while Syracuse (1-2) hosts Western Michigan in Week 4.  But first, let's check out three takeaways from Clemson's big win on Saturday night.

1. Rodgers emerges: Back in March, Rodgers tore his ACL. Not even six months later, he scored two touchdowns and had 121 yards receiving on four catches. It's a medical phenomenon that he's even playing, but that Rodgers is playing at this level is even more remarkable. Across the board for Clemson there are big, long outside receivers (Higgins, Justyn Ross, Frank Ladson, Joseph Ngata, etc.), but Rodgers offers up a space option that could really ignite this offense moving forward -- and that's exactly what he did against Syracuse. He's a running back after the catch and a dynamic separator before the catch, and he adds contrast and diversity to a receiving corps that was already one of the best in the country.  

2. The best is yet to come: Clemson has now throttled a top 25 opponent in Texas A&M (24-10), rolled over Georgia Tech (52-14) and posted a 41-6 drubbing on a Syracuse team that has been its toughest competitor over the last two years in the regular season. The scary part is no one thinks Clemson is playing anywhere close to its 'A' game. Turnovers from Lawrence persist, and a team that's one week removed from giving up 354 rushing yards to Maryland gave Clemson's run game fits at times. Brent Venables' defensive unit is giving the offense plenty of time to get going, and there's a mismatch at all five skill positions every time Clemson steps on the field, but Syracuse had to feel good about the way its defense battled for much of a game that turned ugly late.

3. The red-zone defense is other-worldly: Clemson's defense had faced just five red zone trips before Saturday night. Only three of those managed to find any points. On Saturday, Clemson played red zone defense four more times. Two of them were by its own doing with 48- and 70-yard drives finishing inside the 20 and settling for field goals. The other two trips were the result of offensive miscues that called on the defense to bail it out.

First, an interception by Syracuse defensive back Christopher Frederick in the second quarter gave Syracuse the ball on the Clemson 9 only down 11 points. One play later, Mario Goodrich took the ball right back for Clemson on an interception of his own. Another interception by Syracuse's Trill Williams just missed pick-six status, and a turnover on downs made that 2-yard deficit count. On the season now, Clemson has only given up points on five of its nine defensive trips to inside the 20.

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