Clemson locked up the ACC Atlantic Division on Saturday by knocking off Florida State at home, setting up a huge ACC Championship Game matchup against Miami.
The Tigers still have The Citadel and South Carolina left on the schedule, but back-to-back wins against NC State and Florida State have crowned Dabo Swinney's group the division's champions for the third season in a row. The last two years have ended in the national championship game against Alabama, and now the 2017 Tigers are three wins away from being back in the College Football Playoff.
Because Clemson won and Louisville beat Virginia, both of the ACC's division races were finalized on Saturday. As long as both teams take care of business in the final weeks of the regular season, that game is setting up to be a playoff play-in with the winner getting a shot at the national title.
That's three straight ACC Atlantic Division Championships for @ClemsonFB! #ALLIN pic.twitter.com/mOWdJzJuN9
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) November 12, 2017
Florida State was never a threat offensively in the first half, but when James Blackman hit a few big plays and got the Seminoles back into the game, it was encouraging to see Clemson's response. The Tigers hit the gas pedal offensively with its ground game and quickly iced any chances of an upset loss in its ACC finale. Quarterback Kelly Bryant paces the group, but getting big-time runs from freshman Travis Etienne in these kind of games is what can make this Clemson team capable of repeating last season's success.
Miami's defense is going to make life difficult in the ACC Championship Game, and South Carolina has gotten hot and finds itself in the clubhouse at 5-3 in SEC play, good enough for second place in the SEC East. Clemson is going to find itself in more games like this with the need to seal a win on the ground, and if Bryant and Etienne are able to answer the call like they did against Florida State, the Tigers will be back in the College Football Playoff.
