No. 3 Clemson keeps piling up points and wins, outscoring N.C. State 56-41

RALEIGH, N.C. —  — Dabo Swinney isn’t spending much time thinking of where third-ranked Clemson will be in the first College Football Playoff standings this week.

The coach is pushing Deshaun Watson and that humming-along offense to focus on the first step to get there: winning the Atlantic Coast Conference division race.

Watson accounted for six touchdowns and the Tigers put up a second straight big score on the road Saturday in a 56-41 win at North Carolina State.

The first playoff standings will be released Tuesday night, then the Tigers (8-0, 5-0 ACC) host No. 17 Florida State next weekend to try to clinch the Atlantic Division crown and a trip to the ACC title game.

“We’re 8-0,” Swinney said. “That’s really all that matters for us, that we’ve got a chance to clinch our division with a win over the team that’s been the best team in this conference the last few years.”

One thing is sure: the Tigers’ offense is rolling.

A week after piling up 567 yards in a 58-0 win at Miami, Clemson finished with 623 yards against a defense ranked third nationally and allowing only 251 per game.

Watson threw for 383 yards and five scores, and also ran for 54 yards and a touchdown. Wayne Gallman ran for 172 yards and a touchdown for Clemson, which put together a lightning-strike scoring drive right before halftime to go ahead for good.

“We’re just executing,” Watson said. “We listen to our coaches and what they have planned. We just go out there and play ball and have fun.”

It wasn’t perfect for Clemson, with N.C. State (5-3, 1-3) breaking off a few big plays and turning the game into a shootout while playing from behind. But the Tigers were never seriously threatened in the final 20 minutes, leading by 20 on their way to an 11th straight victory dating to last season.

It also marked Clemson’s 36th straight win against teams unranked in the AP top 25, the last loss coming against the Wolfpack in 2011.