On a 15-yard rush at the end of the third quarter on Saturday, Travis Etienne passed North Carolina State’s Ted Brown for the most rushing yards in ACC history. In the same game, with a receiving touchdown in the first quarter, Etienne also broke an FBS record for most career games with a touchdown scored (42), passing Donnel Pumphrey from San Diego State.
When Etienne was presented with the Leather Helmet Award, given to the MVP of the Clemson-Boston College game, the senior running back made a handoff of his own, to true freshman quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei. It just goes to show the leadership and the humbleness of one of the greatest college running backs of all time.
Etienne wasn’t worried either about the injuries or not having Trevor Lawrence with them out on the field. He wasn’t worried about the 28-13 halftime deficit the Tigers faced. The senior from Louisainna stayed calm, cool and collected and as he said,: “The scoreboard took care of itself.”
When the stadium’s PA announcer came over the intercom when Etienne broke the ACC record, the running back still knew there was work to be done.
Etienne rushed for 84 yards and also caught seven passes for 140 yards. He returned the opening kickoff of the second half for 39 yards to give the Tigers a momentum boost to start the last 30 minutes. His 200+ all-purpose yards helped Clemson come back from the largest come-from-behind win in school history inside of Death Valley.
Etienne will have to lead the offense once again next week, as Trevor Lawrence will not be available to play against the fourth-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Kick is set for 7:30 pm in South Bend and can be viewed on NBC.
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