‘The Best Version of Clemson Football’

The Clemson Tigers football team may have gotten off to a sluggish start a few weeks ago at UNC, escaping Chapel Hill, N.C., with a 21-20 victory, but coaches and players were determined to get back to ‘Clemson football’ in their post-bye week game, using a fast-paced and physical approach that yielded a 45-14 rout of ACC rival Florida State.

The Clemson Tigers football team may have gotten off to a sluggish start a few weeks ago at UNC, escaping Chapel Hill, N.C., with a 21-20 victory, but coaches and players were determined to get back to ‘Clemson football’ in their post-bye week game, using a fast-paced and physical approach that yielded a 45-14 rout of ACC rival Florida State.

After stumbling and nearly falling to the UNC Tar Heels, the Tigers were able to re-establish their rhythm on the offensive side of the ball against the Seminoles, according to senior offensive tackle Tremayne Anchrum.

“It felt great getting back on rhythm,” Anchrum said. “Hitting our numbers, hitting our landmarks, that was really good for us. So just getting back to who we've been and who we are is really good, and it's going to be (the) kind of momentum we need to go through the season.”

Anchrum and the rest of the offense lifted Clemson to 552 total yards of offense against Florida State, and the Tigers’ defense limited the Seminoles to 253 yards in the air and 103 yards on the ground.

The Tigers (6-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) adopted an aggressive pace early in the game, as running back Travis Etienne hit a 23-yard touchdown pass to Justyn Ross on the second play of the game.

“I think it was just kind of interesting because we were like, alright, well, we're going to run this play no matter what,” Anchrum said about the Etienne pass. “And we were like, we got to make it work. Travis — he's no (sophomore quarterback) Patrick McClure — but he can throw it, and we knew he was going to get it to Ross and just put it in his area, he's going to go get it. So, we were really excited for them.”

Head coach Dabo Swinney then dialed up a gutsy fourth-and-goal play from Florida State’s 3-yard line to provide Clemson’s first points of the game. The Tigers kept their foot on the gas offensively and would eventually head into the locker room up 28-0.

Anchrum said he was pleased with how the team moved the ball on the ground. Clemson tallied 320 yards rushing with two touchdowns. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence and wide receiver Amari Rodgers had one apiece.

“We ran it pretty well, pretty well,” Anchrum said. “We got a lot of design runs with just no tags, no extra, just ball hitting A-gap, ball hitting B-gap, and we loved it. (We) kind of fed to the play action, kind of fed into everybody getting into the groove of things — receivers blocking guys running the ball well. It gets the offense hyped, and that's what we love to do.”

He said getting back into a fast-paced, aggressive style of play was key against Florida State.

“It was really important to us because getting back into our rhythm, getting back to who we are, which is putting the ball on the ground, moving people, playing fast (and) physical is really who we are,” he said. “It’s our DNA, and just establishing that early created that momentum that once we get started, nobody can stop us. So, that's what we really appreciate about Saturday.

Anchrum said that after an extra week of practices and speaking with coaches, members of the team had a “new edge” heading into the Florida State game, which gave them the spark they needed to win the game in commanding fashion.

“I think I felt it on that Thursday, especially coming off that bye week,” he said about the days leading up to the game. “Everybody got refreshed. Everybody got a chance to really process what happened first, and then get it out of their systems. And once we hit that new week, we were refreshed. We were ready to go. We had a new edge, and everybody was just ready to get back on the field.

“Regardless of what happened at North Carolina, we were ready to go play the best version of Clemson football.”