Scouting Clemson

Clemson didn’t need any extra motivation, but ended up with some Tuesday evening when it was placed at No. 5 in the first the College Football Playoffs poll came.

The 9-0 Tigers now will have a little extra incentive against NC State (4-4 overall, 1-3 ACC) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium. The reigning national champions last lost an ACC game 27-24 at Syracuse on Oct. 13, 2017.

Here is a full scouting report on Clemson.

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Junior running back Travis Etienne — The speedy Etienne has already topped 1,000 yards for the second time in his Clemson career. He has rushed 123 times for 1,102 yards and 11 touchdowns plus 19 receptions for 184 yards and a score this season. The 5-foot-10, 210-pounder burst on to the scene as a freshman, but became a star last year, when he rushed for 1,658 yards and 24 scores.

Junior wide receiver Tee Higgins — The acrobatic Higgins has caught 32 passes for 662 yards and four touchdowns this season. The 6-4, 215-pounder is averaging an impressive 20.7 yards per catch, and has topped 100 yards twice this season (six in his career). He caught seven passes for 150 yards at Syracuse in a 41-6 win. Higgins has 1,943 career receiving yards and 18 touchdowns.

Sophomore quarterback Trevor Lawrence — The former Rivals.com No. 1-ranked overall player in the class of 2018 helped lead the Tigers to the national title last year. He threw for 3,280 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and four interceptions last year. His numbers have dipped a tad this season, but he has gone 149-of-225 passing for 2,027 yards, 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions, plus he has rushed for 262 yards and six scores. The 6-6, 220-pound Lawrence has only thrown for over 300 yards once this season, tossing for 395 yards and three touchdowns against Syracuse.

Junior strongside linebacker Isaiah Simmons — The 6-4, 230-pounder has NFL scouts salivating. He leads the Tigers with 65 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, six sacks and five passes broken up. Simmons had a season-high 11 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and two against Syracuse, and he added eight tackles and two sacks against Louisville.

Redshirt senior left guard John Simpson — The 6-4, 330-pounder has started every game at left guard, and has 24 career starts. He was named second-team All-ACC by The Associated Press last year.. He was recently named to the Outland Trophy watch list, and he was named the ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week twice this season. He was picked to The Associated Press and USA Today’s midseason All-American team.

1. Travis Etienne can run wild. The junior running back has rushed for over 100 yards in five games this season (14 in his career), including three times over 190 yards. He tallied nine carries for 212 yards and two scores against Wofford last week, and began the season with 12 rushes for 205 yards and three touchdowns in the opener against Georgia Tech on Aug. 29.

Etienne was held in check last year against NC State. He rushed 15 times for 39 yards and three short touchdown runs, plus caught a pass for 24 yards. He also rushed for 31 yards against the Wolfpack on Nov. 4, 2017.

2. Numerous receiving options. Juniors Tee Higgins and Amari Rodgers, and sophomore Justyn Ross returned as starters, and they aren’t alone in making things happen in the Tigers’ passing game. Senior Diondre Overton and freshman Joseph Ngata both are vertical threats, and have a combined five touchdowns.

Higgins leads the offense in receiving yards with 662 yards, but Ross has caught a team-high 36 receptions for 444 yards and five touchdowns. The 6-4, 205-pound Ross showed the college football world how talented he is with 12 catches for 301 yards and three touchdowns against Notre Dame and Alabama last year's playoffs. The 5-10, 210-pound Rodgers suffered an ACL tear last spring, but has come back for 22 catches for 365 yards and four scores.

3. Clemson has sacks disparity on both sides of ball. Clemson returned four starters on the offensive line, but lost all four starters on the defensive line. The Tigers have allowed just six sacks in nine games, which coincides in having so much experience back.

However, it’s still a little bit of a surprise that Clemson has 30 sacks this season. Outside linebacker Isaiah Simmons leads the way with six sacks, and four other players had three apiece.

Senior center Sean Pollard, who is from Jackson Springs, N.C., has settled in at center, and is surrounded by senior left guard John Simpson and senior right guard Gage Cervenka, and senior right tackle Tremayne Anchrum. The four seniors have been joined by sophomore Jackson Carman.

1. NC State cornerbacks getting a boost. If senior cornerback Nick McCloud is going to return from a seven-game absence due to a knee injury, the Tigers wide receivers aren’t the easiest way to ease back in. The flip side is that NC State could really use McCloud’s leadership because sophomore De’Von Graves and redshirt freshman Malik Dunlap are being forced to grow up fast with Wake Forest last week and now Clemson. NCSU coach Dave Doeren said he is "hopeful" that McCloud would be back Saturday.

2. Play physical against new defensive line. NC State’s offensive line has just one starter back from last year in junior right guard Joshua Fedd-Jackson, although redshirt junior left guard Joe Sculthorpe did play starter snaps. Clemson’s revamped defensive line has one senior in defensive tackles Nyles Pinckney, along with junior defensive end Justin Foster, sophomore defensive ends Logan Rudolph and Xavier Thomas and freshman defensive tackle Tyler Davis.

It’s a young group and NC State is also trying to find its way on the offensive line, but nobody is saying this is easy.

3. Get some interceptions. One of the talking points this season has been that Clemson star sophomore quarterback Trevor Lawrence has eight interceptions. It started in the season opener when he threw two against Georgia Tech, but even that was a little bit silly because one came on a last-second Hail Mary throw and the Tigers won 52-14. However, much is expected of Lawrence, and he is a quarterback prodigy. NC State has just three interceptions this season — two by injured junior cornerback Chris Ingram, and one by freshman middle linebacker Drake Thomas.

3 Interceptions by Clemson senior strong safety K’Von Wallace against NC State, getting one in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Wallace has five career interceptions.

48 Career rushing touchdowns by Clemson junior running back Travis Etienne, which trails only former Pittsburgh running back James Conner (52), Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson (50) and NC State star running back Ted Brown (49) in ACC history.

44 Reps at 225 pounds that Clemson senior right guard Gage Cervenka has lifted, which is a program record for the Tigers.

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