No. 1 Clemson has gone into Winston-Salem and absolutely dominated the first half against Wake Forest, taking a 27-0 lead into halftime in the season opener for both teams.
After a three and out on the opening series of the game, Clemson put together consecutive nine play touchdown drives to jump out to a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter, and has not looked back since.
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Outside of one or two throws, Trevor Lawrence has been money. The junior quarterback is 18-24 through the air for 261 yards and has two rushing touchdowns and one passing touchdown. He is spreading the ball out all over the field and has completed passes to eight different receivers. He is also averaging 10.9 yards per attempt.
Travis Etienne has had himself a very productive and workmanlike night. The senior back has carried the ball 15 times and has 94 yards. He has also caught 2 passes for 39 more yards.
Braden Galloway has shown Clemson fans exactly what they have been missing at the tight end position over the last three seasons. Galloway reeled in 5 catches for 60 yards in that first half and has been a match-up problem for the Deacs.
The Clemson defense has been just as stingy against this Wake Forest offense as it has been in the previous two games between the two teams. The Tigers are holding Wake to less than one yard per carry on the ground, have allowed just 113 yards total, and the Demon Deacons are just 3-9 on third downs.
Amari Rodgers looks like a different receiver. Now more than a year removed from the ACL injury and no brace on the knee, Rodgers looks faster and extremely confident. His 69 receiving yards leads all Tigers at the half.
B.T. Potter looks like the weapon most have known he could be. He has hit on field goals of 52 and 42 yards on the night.
Overall a productive first half for the offense. The Tigers have 363 yards of total offense, with 261 of those coming through the air.
