CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ After four consecutive ACC championships and a pair of national titles, Dabo Swinney continued to claim that the best was yet to come for his Clemson program.
As it turns out he was right.
The Tigers completed a dominant run through the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2019 with another record-breaking performance Saturday, blasting Virginia 62-17 for Clemson's fifth consecutive ACC Championship.
With the win, Clemson joins Oklahoma (2015-19) and Alabama (1971-75) as the only members of any active FBS conference to win five straight outright titles. The Tigers also clinched a spot in the College Football Playoff for the fifth straight year.
Clemson will likely face either Ohio State, Oklahoma or LSU in a CFP semifinal. The Tigers will either travel to Atlanta or Phoenix for that game. Clemson will learn its playoff fate at noon Sunday on ESPN during the CFP selection show.
Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence and receiver Tee Higgins were unstoppable in the win as Lawrence passed for 302 yards and four touchdowns, while Higgins caught nine passes for 182 yards and three scores. Neither player played in the fourth quarter as the Tigers built a huge lead.
Clemson led 31-7 at halftime and cruised from that point forward.
Tigers running back Travis Etienne had 14 carries for 114 yards and a touchdown, while his backup Lyn-J Dixon had eight carries for 47 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown.
Defensively Isaiah Simmons and K'Von Wallace led Clemson with nine tackles each, while Simmons and Nolan Turner had interceptions.
Virginia did become the first team all season to reach 300 yards of offense against Clemson, led by Bryce Perkins who passed for 266 yards and rushed for 58.
