Clemson Destroys Miami 38-3 to Win 2017 ACC Championship

Clemson rode a hot start to a dominant 38-3 victory over Miami to win the 2017 ACC Championship Game and set itself up for a third straight appearance in the College Football Playoff. 

The Tigers wasted no time imposing their will on the Hurricanes, scoring touchdowns on each of their first three possessions to take a 21-0 lead in less than 18 minutes of game time.

Quarterback Kelly Bryant completed his first 15 passes against Miami's defense, finishing 23-of-29 for 252 yards and two total touchdowns. He didn't even play in the fourth quarter because Clemson was on cruise control.  

With the offense taking care of business, Clemson's defense did what it's done all year. That group allowed just 214 yards and 10 first downs to help the Tigers win their third straight ACC title. 

The tone of this game was set on the first drive after Clemson received the opening kickoff. It went 68 yards on 10 plays, capped off by this touchdown run by Travis Etienne:

Bryant had the unenviable task of taking over for Deshaun Watson, who was one of the most decorated quarterbacks in college football during his three-year tenure with the program and finished in the top three of Heisman voting in 2015 and 2016. 

ESPN's Roy Philpott went so far as to admit he didn't expect much from Bryant this season:

Now that this is his team, Bryant decided to break one of Watson's ACC Championship Game records:

Clemson needed its passing game to be on point because the one thing Miami did weil was defend the run. The Tigers only managed 77 yards on 41 carries, though four of their five touchdowns came on the ground. 

One big key to Miami's success on defense this season has been creating turnovers. It came into this game ranked third in the nation with 29 turnovers gained, but Clemson turned the tables with three takeaways. 

Barstool Sports used Miami's turnover chain gimmick and a topical GIF to sum up how things went for Clemson:

Miami is a team that's accustomed to having its back against the wall this season. The Hurricanes had a string of four straight games they won against Florida State, Georgia Tech, Syracuse and North Carolina decided by a total of 18 points, and they scored 30 straight points after falling behind 28-14 against Virginia. 

Unfortunately for Miami, Clemson played up to its ranking as the best team in college football on Saturday.

Quarterback Malik Rosier, coming off a poor performance with 187 yards on 15-of-34 passing against Pittsburgh that briefly led to him being benched, had no solution against this defense. He finished the ACC Championship Game 14-of-29 for 110 yards and two interceptions. 

Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald did take some of the heat off Rosier for his performance because he wasn't getting much help from anyone around him:

Will Manso of WPLG-10 in South Florida echoed Salguero's sentiments:

To be fair, the Hurricanes haven't been here before. This was their first appearance in the conference title game since its inception in 2005. 

After a 10-0 start, Miami's season has ended with a whimper thanks to back-to-back losses against Pittsburgh and Clemson. It's not where the Hurricanes wanted to be after having playoff aspirations two weeks ago, but head coach Mark Richt has the program headed in the right direction.

Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald put the Hurricanes' season in proper perspective:

Clemson is so accustomed to this stage, making sure everyone knew the ACC still belonged to the defending national champions, that Mark Ennis shared this GIF to sum up how wide the gap appears to be between it and the rest of the conference:

The Tigers have also had the Hurricanes' number in recent matchups, via CBS Sports:

Head coach Dabo Swinney has transformed the Tigers into a dynasty in the ACC. This is their seventh straight 10-win season. They have played in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in each of the past two seasons, winning the national title last year. 

The playoff selection committee bumped Clemson up to No. 1 in the rankings last week following Alabama's loss to Auburn. It left no doubt about deserving that spot when the final Top 25 is unveiled on Sunday with this performance against seventh-ranked Miami. 

After taking care of business in the ACC Championship Game, Clemson will be able to sit back and await its opponent in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1.