Biggest margin of victory since Heisman's time

Man, it sounds like Clemson was damn impressive in that 39-3 ACC win over Georgia Tech. Charlie Whitehurst threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns, and we had a real running game for the first time this season -- 138 yards rushing against a defense that had shut down Florida State's Greg Jones the week before. The Tigers now have a week off to prepare for their toughest stretch of the season, which begins Oct. 4 at Maryland. (I'll be at that one.) Here's what the media had to say about the demolition of the Jackets.

GAME STORIES: "Tigers rip Jackets apart," says the Greenville News; "Tigers take to the air," says The State; "Tigers pass first ACC test," says the Anderson Independent-Mail; "Jackets suffer worst loss to Clemson in a century," says the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

THE STATS: Here's a complete statistical summary of the game.

GAME ANALYSIS: The Greenville News examines Clemson's strong defensive showing. (More on the defense here.) The State has a story about Charlie Whitehurst's great performance, hands out some grades, and continues this weird trivia feature called "high five." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes about how Clemson's taller receivers wore down the shorter Tech secondary.

Augusta Chronicle columnist Scott Michaux says Clemson's surprisingly strong performance is symptomatic of the parity and unpredictability of college football. The Charleston Post and Courier's Ken Burger calls Clemson's win "Bowden's great game nobody saw." The Greenville News' Bart Wright sees through Clemson's ugly purple uniforms (I hate 'em; see pictures here) to an essential truth:

It was a complete victory. One, at this point, that looks at least as good if not better than any win Clemson managed a year ago.

So true.

NOTEBOOKS: The Greenville News; The Anderson Independent-Mail; The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; The Charleston Post and Courier.

AROUND THE ACC: Florida State looked impressive in crushing Colorado. N.C. State looked less impressive in holding off Texas Tech; the Wolfpack defense yielded 681 yards.

Elsewhere, Maryland whipped West Virginia, North Carolina came up short against Wisconsin, Wake Forest defeated East Carolina, and Northwestern downed Duke.