Clemson Sets The Tone In Win Over Pitt

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said he was proud of the way his team started its game Saturday against Pitt. After missing the last weeks, Clemson scored a school-record 31 points in the first quarter to beat the Panthers 52-17.

After a bye week, and cancellation in Tallahassee, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said his team was excited to get back on the field.

"We talked about just setting the tone early, and we did defensively," Swinney said after the Tigers 52-17 victory over Pittsburgh Saturday. "They came out and did an awesome job right out of the gate."

Clemson had interceptions on three of Pitt's first five possessions, and turned all three into touchdowns. The Tigers would score a school-record 31 points in the first quarter.

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"This quarterback (Pitt's Kenny Pickett) had just four interceptions all year," Swinney said. "We had four tonight, and could have had a couple more."

Swinney called the offense explosive during that first quarter run. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence, making his first start since Oct. 24, completed 26-of-37 passes for 403 yards and two touchdowns.

"A lot of big plays in that first quarter," Swinney said. "We were very efficient and explosive. It was good to have Trevor back, he was awesome. There were a lot of contributions from a lot of guys."

Coming into Saturday's game Pitt had given up an average of 93 yards rushing per game. Clemson finished with 145 yards rushing as a team led by Travis Etienne's 58 yards and two scores.

"We needed to be effective (running the football)," Swinney said. "We were able to create the explosives that we thought would be there and the distortion. Travis was awesome, he looked fresh."

Swinney gave credit to the offensive line, including the second string, for getting a push against the Pitt defense.

"There were a couple of gritty, dirty yards down on the goal line where we didn't have them all blocked but we were able to kind of push it in there," Swinney said. 

Clemson is scheduled to travel to Blacksburg to face Virginia Tech next week. When asked about a possible re-scheduling of the Florida State game, Swinney was quick to answer that he has not heard anything.