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Wednesday, November 11, 2026Nov 11

Travis Etienne stars as Clemson rolls past Georgia Tech in opener

Associated Press photo by Richard Shiro / Clemson running back Travis Etienne heads down the sideline for a 90-yard touchdown during the first half of the Tigers' 52-14 win against Georgia Tech on Thursday night.
Associated Press photo by Richard Shiro / Clemson running back Travis Etienne heads down the sideline for a 90-yard touchdown during the first half of the Tigers' 52-14 win against Georgia Tech on Thursday night. Associated Press photo by Richard Shiro / Clemson running back Travis Etienne heads down the sideline for a 90-yard touchdown during the first half of the Tigers' 52-14 win against Georgia Tech on Thursday night.

CLEMSON, S.C. – Travis Etienne spent all offseason trying to ignore the national attention headed his way.

He’ll have a harder time doing that after the show he put on in No. 1 Clemson’s season opener.

The 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference football player of the year rushed for a career-high 205 yards and three touchdowns, including one from 90 yards out, as the Tigers overpowered Georgia Tech 52-14 Thursday night for their 16th straight victory.

Etienne started slowly and had a first-quarter fumble to end a drive by the Tigers. The next time he touched the ball, the junior bounced to the left and outraced the Yellow Jackets to the end zone to tie the longest touchdown run in Clemson history.

Etienne added 14- and 48-yard rushing scores as Clemson went up 35-0. He averaged better than 17 yards on his 12 carries.