The biggest game of the college football season so far certainly lived up to they hype. It was back and forth through the entire game, but the Clemson Tigers pulled off a 4th-quarter comeback to outlast the Louisville Cardinals and win, 42-36. You can learn a lot about your team when they play in a game of this magnitude, and that was the case with Clemson. Here are three things we learned about them in the victory:
3) Deshaun Watson is the best quarterback in the country
Along with being a matchup of top five teams, this game was also a matchup of two of the best quarterbacks in the country in Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson. Jackson came in as the Heisman frontrunner and may still be, but Watson's performance - in a victory - reminded everyone why he is regarded as the best QB in the nation. He passed for over 300 yards and threw five touchdowns, but more impressively, never panicked and led his team to a 4th quarter comeback victory. Jackson might be the better athlete, but Watson showed he's the best quarterback.
2) Focus is still a concern
Leading up to this game, a lot of the talk about Clemson was how they hadn't lived up to their potential yet this year despite being undefeated. Many saw that as a lack of focus, not working or playing as hard against lesser teams - and that problem reared its ugly head again tonight. After getting a big lead in the first half, it seemed like the Tigers were celebrating like they had won the game at halftime. They came out flat and, yes, unfocused for the third quarter, during which they turned it over three times and Louisville reeled off 26 straight points to take the lead.
Clemson was able to turn it back on at the end of the game, but they need to play a focused game for 60 minutes if they want to win a national title this year.
1) They have the best chance to make the College Football Playoff of anyone in the country
With this win - and Florida State's loss to UNC - Clemson essentially has a two-game lead in the ACC Atlantic Division (tiebreaker over Louisville). With FSU now looking vulnerable, the Tigers would have a cakewalk until the ACC Championship Game, where they'll be heavily favored no matter who they play (which will probably be Miami). Another 13-0 record and ACC title would likely put them as the No. 1 team in the country and secure a spot in the playoff, and they have a uncharacteristically easy road to get there.
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