Clemson 45, North Carolina 37: Five things we learned

Every Heisman winner has them. Deshaun Watson's had a few already this season and added a whole bunch Saturday.

Watson had 420 total yards — 131 rushing, 289 passing — with three total touchdowns. He led Clemson to its ninth-straight 500-yard effort. The Tigers scored more points against UNC than anyone has all year.

Watson is far from a lock for college football's top prize, especially with Derrick Henry helping Alabama down Florida and Christian McCaffrey gaining nearly 500 all-purpose yards in Stanford's win over USC. But he'll be in New York for the Heisman ceremony and deserves plenty of first-place votes, if not enough to win the award.

That third facet of the game can be so important and swing a contest one way or the other. Fortunately for each of these teams, specials teams was a wash because both were so terrible in the first half.

It started with a missed 48-yard field goal by Clemson that came up just short, plenty makeable but definitely excusable for a college kicker.

Then UNC botched a two-point conversion on that dreaded swinging gate play.

It got worse. Clemson punter Andy Teasdall took a snap from his own 30-yard line and rolled slightly right, looking to send it long. He thought the punt would get blocked, so he reversed field and tried to run for the first down. He came up short and UNC needed just a few plays to score and go up 16-14.

Then Clemson safety T.J. Green got called for targeting after leveling UNC returner Ryan Switzer on a punt return. Offsetting penalties forced Teasdall to punt again, and Switzer again got knocked over once more and the ball popped loose, but since he called a fair catch, UNC kept the ball. 

Both teams shored up their special teams units in the second half, but the first was ugly.

Watson is the weapon in this offense, but when Wayne Gallman is going, it makes the Tigers even scarier. 

Gallman ran for 187 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries in the win. He had just 17 yards rushing at halftime to Watson's 99, but as the UNC defense wore down as the Tigers neared 100 total plays, Gallman ran it down the Heels' throat to put the game on ice.

Gallman also caught four passes for 68 yards, including a 16-yard catch and run in the first quarter for a touchdown.

UNC running back Elijah Hood touched the ball just eight times for 34 yards in the first half. With Marquise Williams struggling mightily, he needed more.

Hood is a physical, downhill runner who's not intimidated by Clemson's stout front seven. But the Heels didn't get him going early and despite his decent stat line (14 carries for 65 yards, 4.6 per carry, and a TD), they needed more from Hood.

Hood entered the game with 1,280 yards on 192 carries and 16 touchdowns, and eclipsed 100 yards in three straight games before Saturday.

The knock on UNC all season had been its schedule. The Heels lacked that signature win, but had a chance to get it in the ACC Championship Game.

It turned out Carolina just couldn't hang with a team of Clemson's caliber. The Tigers racked up 608 yards of total offense and 33 first downs. They constantly pressured Williams, who was running for his life when he wasn't missing open receivers.

The Tigers let down a little bit in wins over Wake Forest, Syracuse and South Carolina after knocking off rival Florida State at home to start November. But Clemson showed everyone it deserves the College Football Playoff committee's top seed.