Written By: James Leyva
CLEMSON, SC, The 114th meeting between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Clemson Tigers, known as the “Palmetto Bowl,” ended up being beautiful night for the Tigers. For the third straight year, the Clemson Tigers routed their arch rival South Carolina Gamecocks, 56 to 7. This victory now gives the Tigers their fourth 11 win season out of the last five years. South Carolina is bowl eligible having a 6-6 record, but once again, fell victim to Clemson. Clemson senior quarterback Deshaun Watson and his fellow seniors had a memorable night that they will likely never forget.
The Palmetto Bowl game is the rivalry between the two major universities of South Carolina, Clemson and South Carolina. Neither team was willing to let the other one have bragging rights, or the Palmetto Bowl Trophy. The Gamecocks came into this stadium hoping to spoil Clemson playoff chances. However, Clemson came out with a bang and was ready to answer the bell against the Gamecocks by jumping out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. Clemson has not scored this many points in the first quarter since 2003, when Tigers faced the Gamecocks in Columbia. South Carolina’s confidence was shattered at the end of the first quarter and could not stop Watson, or the Tigers’ offense from putting a record 622 yards of total offense. This was the most ever yards gained by one team in the rivalry. Watson had his best performance in his last home game at Clemson Memorial Stadium. He completed 26 of 32 passes, 347 yards and six touchdowns for the second time in his career (which ties his own record against North Carolina 2014). Clemson wide receiver Artavis Scott had eight catches for 77 yards, one touchdown and had the longest punt return of the year, 28 yards. Clemson wide receiver Mike Williams had a huge night as well, with six receptions for 100 yards and three touchdowns, which is the most any receiver ever had against the Gamecocks. Williams said after the game “It felt great you know, we felt like we had some opportunities, he threw up and I made some plays.” Watson now has over 4,000 all-purpose yards for the season, in passing and rushing. He is also still in the Heisman Trophy conversation, but all that matter to him is winning football games. “I guess so it’s kinda out of my control,” Watson said. “I kinda I figured that out last year, I don't make that decision, certain people do, it’s the voters and people they have board trustees with the Heisman and the voters. Hopefully I did something, but at the end of the day I just try to focus on getting the W, a couple weeks to decide, so I'm blessed to be part of the conversation.” Clemson lead the Gamecocks 42-0 at halftime, but it was not over yet for Clemson. The offense went back to work and Watson went 8-8, for 106 yards and two touchdowns to make it 49-7. Running back Wayne Gallman finished his senior night with 19 carries for 118 yards and one touchdown. This was Gallman’s 17th career 100 yard rushing game. The Gamecocks had no answer on defense and Clemson continue to dominate until about six minutes left in the game, when Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney decided to give Watson and the seniors their moment of thank you and the crowd gave them a standing ovation as they came off the field for the last time. Swinney stated, “ to have another game, a home game, these guys played awesome, you know if you gonna win a championship, your best players have to play. I’m of this team and I’m proud of our guys.” The 2016 Clemson Tiger senior class has 46 wins together and look to continue with a showdown in Orlando, FL in the ACC Championship game against the Virginia Tech Hokies. This will be their second ACC championship game in a row and if they win, they will likely be in the College Football Playoff. As far South Carolina goes, they have a 6-6 record so they will go to a bowl game That has yet to be determined. Written by Adrian Beecher Deshaun Watson's 149-yards passing and Wayne Gallman's 96 rushing yards have the Clemson Tigers rolling over Wake Forest at the half. However, the Demon Deacons scored ten unanswered points, to cut a 28-0 deficit to just 3 scores by half. The Tigers wasted little time getting things going after halting Wake Forest on the opening possession. On the Tigers ensuing drive, it took just four plays before Wayne Gallman broke a 42 yard TD run to give Clemson the 7-0 lead with 11:24 left in the 1st quarter. This was just the start of a 1st half rout of the Demon Deacons. In total Wake Forest punted four times in the 1st quarter alone, while the Tigers ran up a 21-0 lead. To add to the 1st quarter, Watson threw for 114 yards, while Gallman ran for 63 yards. Wake, on the other hand, had just 27 yards of total offense at the end of the 1st quarter. Things slowed down a bit in the 2nd quarter after the Tigers added a quick TD on a 3 yard Deshaun Watson TD run to make it 28-0. The deacons would add a 42-yard field goal from Mike Weaver for their first score of the game after a muffed punt by the Tigers set them up in beautiful field position. Clemson was then forced into a turnover on downs on their next possession. In a surprising change of events, Wake Forest then went on a six play 64-yard drive that ended with a 1 yard TD rush from Cade Carney. This made it 28-10 with 3:31 left to play in the 1st half. The Wake Forest defense then stood tall and forced a quick, yet rare 3 and out of the Clemson, and the Demon Deacons took over 1st and ten at their 49-yard line. However, they were unable to keep the momentum rolling and were forced to punt. This would send us into the half.
Written by Alton Seabrook
This Saturday, at 7PM EST, the Clemson Tigers (9-1) (6-1, ACC) will travel to Wake Forest (6-3) (3-3 ACC) to play at BB&T Stadium.
Led by quarterback Deshaun Watson, the Tigers have played tremendous football up to this point in the season. A shocking upset loss last week against the University of Pittsburgh Panthers knocked the Tigers off track but they look to get back on track this week. The loss last week didn’t totally eliminate the Tigers from contention for the College Football Playoff. Especially since Washington and Michigan both lost as well. Look for Watson to connect with wide receiver Mike Williams, who only needs 44 yards to break the 1000 yard mark this season. The Tigers have shown that they’re battle tested, winning close games against tough opponents like Florida State, Louisville, and Auburn. Don’t be fooled by last weeks’ result, as the Tigers are still on a mission to contend for the National Championship, and winning those big games may have solidified their position. Wake Forest has played a few close games this season. Their most notable game was a 17-6 loss to Florida State. Wake Forest leads the ACC in turnover margin, creating 23 turnovers this season. Clemson has consistently turned the football over this year, which is a major problem. 21 times to be exact and six of those were in the red zone. If the Demon Deacons can find a way to force turnovers, this may be a closer game than what fans expect. The Tigers are in a must win situation. They can’t afford any more losses if they want to make the playoffs. The Demon Deacons face their second top ten opponent in two weeks. Last weeks’ game against Louisville was close until the fourth quarter, when Louisville scored 34 unanswered points on a scoring barrage. After the loss, Wake Forest suspected that Louisville had stolen, or somehow acquired their game plan. That suspicion has sparked an investigation. Wake Forest suspected this because they found documents of plays hey hadn’t run, were in Louisville’s stadium. A member of Wake Forest traveling party found the documents Friday and contacted the athletic director after doing so. Outside of the investigation the Deacons could play another close game ate home this week against the Tigers. The big question is can they force turnovers like they did last week against Louisville? If they can do that, it may result in a win for the Deacons. But if Clemson comes out with a chip on their shoulders, it may be too much for the Deacons to handle. Written by Erik Slaby Clemson, SC - On a chilly, fall afternoon here at Memorial Stadium, or more commonly known as Death Valley, the nationally ranked 2nd Clemson University Tigers were defeated by the University of Pittsburgh Panthers, 43-42. It was a thrilling, close game for all who watched. This loss now makes it a bit tougher for Clemson to make it to the College Football Playoff and Pittsburgh is now bowl-eligible. This game was close throughout the day and right up to the final moment. This game may have not been as close had Clemson not hurt themselves with penalties and turnovers all night. Clemson turned the football over three times and had nine penalties for 101 yards. All three of those turnovers were interceptions thrown by Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson. Even though Clemson had their struggles, they still had a chance to close out the game with five minutes left. Clemson got the ball back after a Pittsburgh scoring drive that was started by an interception of Watson by linebacker Saleem Brightwell, who returned it 70 yards to set the Pittsburgh offense in great field position. Three plays later, Pittsburgh running back James Conner ran for a 20 yard TD and Pittsburgh converted on a two-point conversion. The score was now 42-40 with Clemson leading when they got the ball. Clemson drove their way down the field, while working time off the clock. They were able to get the ball to the Pittsburgh 36 yard line, in great field position and burned off roughly four minutes off the clock when they faced a critical third down and one yard to go. If Clemson converts the third down, it’s very likely that they win the game. Clemson tried to run the ball on third down with running back Wayne Gallman and failed to gain any yardage. Clemson then decided to go for it on fourth down. On fourth down, Clemson pitched the football to Gallman who was stopped short of the first down by a powerful Pittsburgh rushing defense. Pittsburgh then drove the ball down the field and kicker Chris Blewitt drilled a 48 yard field goal in the final seconds to win the game. All night, Clemson had success throwing the ball so it is a bit perplexing that they decided to run the ball on back to back plays. Especially considering that the Pittsburgh defense held them to 50 yards rushing. Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi spoke after the game in regards to the critical stops that the defense had made late in the game. “They (defense) get a big third and short stop, fourth and short stop,” Naduzzi said. “That’ll go down in history as one of the greatest fourth down stops ever, really if you think about it. I mean you knock off the number two team in the country and you know, do it in that fashion, that way.” Even though Clemson lost, there were still a few highlights for them, especially offensively. Watson completed 52 of 70 passes for 580 yards, three touchdowns but he also threw three interceptions. The 70 pass attempts set a school record and the 580 passing yards set an Atlantic Coast Conference record, as well as a Clemson school record set back in 2013 by Tajh Boyd. Wide receiver Mike Williams had 15 catches for 202 yards and one touchdown and wide receiver Artavis Scott had 13 catches for 125 yards and one touchdown. Pittsburgh was led by their tough physical defense that prides themselves on stopping the run. This proved to be a major problem for Clemson throughout the night. Pittsburgh also had three players have 11 tackles or more, as well as forcing the three turnovers. Defensive back Avonte Maddox may have been the start of the defense as he had 11 tackles, two of them for a loss and an interception. Offensively, Pittsburgh was led by quarterback Nathan Peterman who completed 22 of 37 passes for 308 yards and five touchdowns. This was the first time all season that a quarterback passed for five touchdowns against Clemson. Conner ran roughshod over the Clemson defense all night. He had 20 carries for 132 yards, one touchdown and he also had three catches for 57 yards and a touchdown. With this loss, Clemson still controls their own fate in the ACC but are on shakier ground in regards to the College Football Playoff. They will need to win the rest of their games, including the ACC Championship game. Next week, Clemson travels on the road for a tough game against Wake Forest, who was defeated by Louisville this week. If they win next week, that will seal their spot in the ACC Championship game.
Written by Adrian Beecher
Clemson, SC- Clemson and PITT are throwing down in Death Valley. Coming in as a 3 score favorite, the Tigers have been shocked by a Panthers team that hasn’t letup since the first whistle. At the half, No. 2 Clemson leads 28-27, here’s the recap.
In a shocking start of events, the PITT Panthers won the opening toss and elected to receive. They then went 75 yards in just 5 plays in a minute and 52 seconds, finding the endzone on a 15-yard pass from Nathan Peterman to George Aston to make it 7-0 Panthers. Clemson’s opening possession looked to be promising, before Deshaun Watson threw an interception in the back of the endzone that was hauled in by PITT’s Ryan Lewis. The Panthers were unable to do anything with the turnover and were forced to punt. Then it was the Watson show as he led his Tigers on a 6 play 51 yard drive to tie the game up at 7 as Wayne Gallman finished the drive with a 1 yard TD run. PITT then answered right back, thanks in due part to busted coverage that saw tailback James Conner run uncovered down the right sideline where Nathan Peterman found him for a 46 yard TD completion, as Conner went untouched into the endzone to make it 14-7. Clemson’s ensuing possession saw them get the ball right up to the PITT goal line in what looked to be a Tiger TD. However, the play wasn’t called dead and the ball popped lose and Jordan Whitehead picked it up and ran it back 100 yards for a Panthers TD. This would have made it 21-7 PITT, but the play was reviewed and it was determined that Wayne Gallman crossed the goal line, thus tying the game at 14 with 40 seconds left on the clock in the 1st quarter. After a stalled Panthers drive, Clemson went on a prolific 11 play 80 yard drive to take their first lead of the game with a 15 yard TD pass from Watson to Mike Williams. This made it 21-14 with 10:06 left in the 2nd quarter. PITT then got to work on a drive of their own, which didn’t take any where near as long. After 3 incomplete passes and a holding call against the Tigers defense, Peterman found Scott Orndoff on the right sideline and he made an amazing juggling catch on his way to a 55 yard TD connection. However the PAT was missed and the Tigers retained the lead at 21-20. The Tigers then started a promising drive and found themselves quickly in PITT territory. However, on 3rd and 7 from the PITT 44 yard line, Deshaun Watson threw over the middle and was hit as he threw. This cause the ball to go a bit high as it hit the tips of Deon Cain’s fingers and ricoshade into the hands of Panthers defender Avonte Maddox for the interception. Then it was the James Conner show, as he put together 4 carries on the drive for a total of 58 yards before Peterman found George Aston in the endzone for a 1 yard TD pass. This gave PITT a 27-21 lead over the No. 2 ranked Tigers with 2:23 left in the 1st half. Clemson would not lie down quietly though, and quickly again moved the ball down field as the PITT defense gave plenty of cushion to the Tiger receiver’s. They went 75 yards in just 6 plays, taking just 1 minute and 15 seconds off the clock as Watson found Artavis Scott for a 13 yard TD completion to give the Tigers the lead back at 28-27. With 1:02 left on the Clock and the ball at their own 16-yard line, the Panthers were able to get the ball into field goal range just before the half. However, the 53-yard attempt from Chris Blewitt was blocked by Dexter Lawrence as time expired and sent the Tigers into the locker room with a 28-27 lead.
Written by Erik Slaby
This Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, the nationally 2nd ranked Clemson University Tigers (9-0) are back at home at Clemson Memorial Stadium, popularly known as Death Valley, to take on inter-conference opponent, the University of Pittsburgh Panthers (5-4), led by second year head coach Pat Narduzzi.
Last week, Clemson defeated conference opponent Syracuse in a blowout win, 54-0. This win now gives Clemson a 6-0 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference. It also continues to bolster their chances of getting into the College Football Playoff and competing for the National Championship. This week, the College Football Playoff Selection committee released their rankings of all of the teams and Clemson was ranked 2nd for the second consecutive week. Against Syracuse, Clemson won in dominating fashion. They were up 30-0 at halftime so for the rest of the game, they played most, or all of their players that were on the bench. In the end, Clemson played 85 players throughout the game. This was great for Clemson as they were able to get the players deep on the depth chart valuable experience, which will be very important if any starting players get injured late on this season. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney spoke after the game about being able to play this many players. “It was nice to have a game where we could have some fun and get a bunch of guys in the game and get some guys some experience,” Swinney stated. “We played a lot of guys. Most everyone who’s not redshirting, for the most part, you know was able to get in the game today. And that always fun.” Offensively, Clemson was led by quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and backup Nick Schuessler. Watson bruised his shoulder late in the second quarter and he did not return, so he was relieved by Schuessler. Coach Swinney stated after the game about Watson that he was fine and that, “he was ready. If we needed him and if we got in a bind.” Watson completed 13 of 16 passes, for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Schuessler completed 11 of 17 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns. This was the first time in school history that two quarterbacks each passed for over 160 yards in a game. The receiving group was led by wide receivers Mike Williams, who had six catches for 106 yards and one touchdown and Deon Cain, who had five catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns. Against Pittsburgh, Clemson will have to keep an eye out for defensive lineman Ejaun Price who leads the team in sacks with nine. They will also have to watch out for defensive back Ryan Lewis, who leads the team in tackles with 58. He is also tied with fellow defensive back Terrish Webb for the team lead in pass breakups with six. Pittsburgh has a decent defense that will present some challenges to Clemson. Their defense has the ability to keep games close as three of their four losses have been by one score or less. Pittsburgh is led offensively by running back James Conner, who leads the team in rushing with 712 yards, as well as 11 rushing touchdowns. He also has 197 yards receiving yards and two touchdowns. Conner will be extremely important for the Clemson defense to key in on as he is what makes the Pittsburgh offense go. Pittsburgh is coming off of a tough 51-28 loss to the Miami Hurricanes on the road, so they will be looking to redeem themselves this Saturday. Defensively for Clemson, Pittsburgh will need to keep an eye out for star linebacker Ben Boulware who leads the team in tackles with 70. He also has two sacks and an interception. Defensive lineman Carlos Watkins will also be a player to watch as he leads the team in sacks with five and a half. In the series between these two teams, Pittsburgh leads it all-time 1-0. This is the first time since 1977 that these two teams will play each other. If Pittsburgh wins this game, they will become bowl-eligible. Also, it may be the biggest upset win so far this college football season and a huge win for the program. Clemson will need to win this game though in order to keep on their hopes of reaching the College Football Playoff alive. Clemson cannot afford to falter at any point for the rest of this season. In the end, Clemson is a more talented and experienced team so it may be too much for Pittsburgh to overcome.
Written by Erik Slaby
Clemson, SC- On a cool, fall afternoon here at Memorial Stadium, or more commonly known as Death Valley, the nationally ranked 2nd Clemson University Tigers defeated the Syracuse University Orange, 54-0. This win now gives Clemson a 9-0 record and a 6-0 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference. With this victory, Clemson is still in control of their destiny and remain on the path to reach the College Football Playoff. It was a dominating win by Clemson, but it may have been closer, had a Syracuse player not gotten injured early on in the game.
Midway through the first quarter, Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey ran for a short gain and was hit hard and sandwiched by two Clemson defenders. He was laid out on the field for a while before he was helped off the field by the medical staff. He would not return in the game and his backup, Austin Wilson played the rest of the game. Dungey is a dynamic quarterback, so the game may have been a bit closer had he not gotten injured, but given the way Clemson was playing, they still probably would’ve won. In this game, Clemson was able to get a look at a lot of the players deep on their depth chart and get them valuable playing time and experience. Because they were up 30-0 at halftime, Clemson felt comfortable about playing them. In the end, Clemson played 85 players on their roster. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney spoke after the game about the number of guys they played. “It was nice to have a game where we could have some fun and get a bunch of guys in the game and get some guys some experience,” Swinney stated. “We played a lot of guys. Most everyone who’s not redshirting, for the most part, you know was able to get in the game today. And that always fun. It’s a little stressful in those situations,” Swinney said with a smile, “in the fourth quarter because you’re trying to make sure you’ve got 11, (players on the field) everybody knows what to do, but it’s a great reward for a lot of those guys to get an opportunity to go play.” A small issue did arise before halftime though as Clemson’s starting quarterback Deshaun Watson did not play the last series of the first half, or the entire second half. It was later revealed that Watson had bruised his shoulder but could’ve came back in the game if he was needed. When asked after the game why Watson didn’t play anymore, Swinney, deadpanned, said “because it was 30 to nothing and we had control of the game and we weren’t gonna bring that bruised shoulder… we weren’t gonna put him back out there and take a chance. But he was ready. If we needed him and if we got in a bind.” Offensively, Clemson was led by quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and Nick Schuessler. Watson completed 13 of 16 passes, for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Schuessler completed 11 of 17 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns. This was the first time in school history that two quarterbacks each passed for over 160 yards in a game. The receiving group was led by wide receivers Mike Williams, who had six catches for 106 yards and one touchdown and Deon Cain, who had five catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns. This was also the first 100 yard receiving game for Cain. Defensively, Clemson dominated the game. They had four tackles for a loss, two sacks, three interceptions and one of them was returned for a touchdown. Defensive back Jadar Johnson and linebacker Ben Boulware led the team with seven tackles each. The defense also held Syracuse to 277 total yards offensively, compared to the 565 total yards of offense that the Clemson offense managed to produce. Syracuse, offensively, was led by backup quarterback Wilson who replaced Dungey after his injury. Wilson completed 17 of 27 passes, for 116 yards and two interceptions. He was harassed by the Clemson defense the entire night and was forced to make the majority of his throws to the short and intermediate routes. Clemson covered the deep routes well the whole night and the pass rush was able to frustrate Wilson into getting rid of the ball quickly. Special teams for Syracuse played fairly well though. Punter Sterling Hofrichter had several punts that had good hang time, distance and were able to pin the Clemson offense deep in their own territory. Kickoff return man Sean Riley had 178 yards on returns, including a long return of 68 yards. Kicker Cole Murphy did have the one hiccup for special teams, as he missed a 30 yard field goal that would’ve prevented a shutout. Next week, Clemson is back at home to take on the Pittsburgh Panthers, who are coming off a 51-28 loss to the Miami Hurricanes. If Clemson defeats Pittsburgh next week, that may win them the Atlantic division of the ACC and lockup their spot for the ACC Championship game and eventually, a place in the College Football Playoff. After a win like this though, Clemson cannot afford to slip up against any opponent as it could cost them their chance of getting into the playoff. |
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