Clemson notches ‘a landmark win’ for itself and the ACC
Clemson depicts the thrill of victory, LSU the agony of defeat. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
Not to sound like the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, but the 45th Chick-fil-A Bowl featured the third-best matchup on this year’s cluttered postseason board. (Behind only Oregon-Kansas State in the Fiesta and Notre Dame-Alabama in the BCS title game.) You had LSU, which this time last year was preparing to play for a national championship, and Clemson, which at the dawn of 2012 was, er, readying to yield 70 points in the Orange Bowl.
And that recent history, divergent as it was, is what made the Chick-fil-A so enticing. LSU is a big-time program from The Only Conference That Matters, while Clemson remains a wild card from that basketball league. Clemson entered 10-2, same as LSU, but the orange Tigers closed their regular season by losing at home to a South Carolina team without both Marcus Lattimore and Connor Shaw.
This happened on the same day Florida State lost at home to Florida and Georgia Tech, recent conqueror of Lane Kiffin’s misguided minions, was beaten by 32 points in Athens. It was yet another in an extensive series of ACC reversals, and it left Clemson with still more explaining to do. How can such a conspicuously gifted aggregation whiff on most every big game?
Six Clemson players made first-team All-ACC, including quarterback Tajh Boyd, running back Andre Ellington, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, tight end Brandon Ford and two offensive linemen. All of which made it most curious that Florida State actually won the ACC, but that’s the Clemson way. These Tigers look sleek as long as they have the ball; it’s when they don’t that bad things happen.
Sure enough, a bad thing happened on the Chick-fil-A’s second snap. Sammy Watkins, technically a receiver, took a handoff and was greeted rudely by LSU’s Barkevious Mingo. Watkins fumbled the ball and hurt his ankle, and two plays later the orange Tigers were seven points behind.
That was the story of Monday’s first half. Clemson won the eyeball test — it outgained LSU 248 yards to 106 — but never got ahead. It managed to sack LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger, once a Georgia Bulldog, four times in the first quarter, but in the second quarter Clemson had a tying extra point blocked. Thus did it trail at halftime for the first time this season.
For all its success, LSU can sometimes outsmart itself, which is to say that LSU can leave you wondering if it knows what it’s doing. The team with the fifth-best rushing attack in the brawny SEC tried only eight true runs — we won’t count the Mettenberger sacks as runs, even though statisticians do — against the team with the fifth-worst rushing defense in the finesse ACC. So why, nearly everyone wondered, would a team that runs better than it throws try to make Mettenberger into Matt Ryan?
Apparently the long halftime recess gave Leslie Miles and Co. the chance to rethink. On the first play of the third quarter, Mettenberger handed the ball to tailback Jeremy Hill, who took it 57 yards. LSU led 21-13, soon to be 24-13, and the game had assumed an odd look: Clemson was making plays and gaining yards without really putting pressure on LSU.
The orange Tigers drew within 24-16 inside the final 10 minutes. Then they sacked Mettenberger a sixth — yes, a sixth — time, and now Clemson had a chance to tie. (For the record, there was once a time when some Georgia fans considered Mettenberger superior to Aaron Murray. No one thinks as much anymore.) It got the touchdown, the splendid Hopkins catching Boyd’s pass in the back of the end zone, but a two-point try was unavailing.
And there it stood, one group of Tigers who call their stadium Death Valley leading another group of Tigers who call their stadium Death Valley separated by two points with 2:47 to play on the final night of 2012. Then LSU lost its mind and, rather than run the ball, ordered three consecutive Mettenberger passes and, not surprisingly, had to punt.
To its credit, Clemson rose to this moment. Boyd, who passed for 346 yards, found Hopkins, who caught 13 passes for 191 yards, on fourth-and-16, and Chandler Cantazaro kicked the winning field goal as the game clock struck zero. For once, the orange Tigers didn’t turn into a pumpkin with midnight at hand. Instead they outfought and outsmarted one of the big boys from the biggest league.
And nobody could say justice hadn’t been served. The ACC Tigers had been much the better team, outgaining LSU by 236 yards, running 100 snaps to the SEC Tigers’ 48 and amassing 32 first downs to LSU’s nine. “This is a landmark win,” said Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, speaking four minutes after midnight, and it had that feel.
“They kept playing, all the way to fourth-and-16,” the effusive Swinney said, and his Clemson Tigers might still be savoring this one when 2013 becomes 2014.
By Mark Bradley
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157 comments Add your comment
bhamwreck
January 1st, 2013
8:42 am
First Downs: Clemson 32 LSU 8. How was this game even close? Clemson was by far better than the “top ten” SEC team. They showed it on the field.
Southeastern Losers
January 1st, 2013
8:49 am
I’m sorry what was the score of the UGA LSU game? Oh yeah, that’s right……………………..
gator Jim Bob
January 1st, 2013
8:50 am
ACC (America’s Cup Cakes) get a HUGE win over an overconfident SEC opponent, Kudos to Clemson.
pioneer
January 1st, 2013
8:57 am
They play ten neutral site games, LSU wins seven. But not last night!! Maybe Nkemdiche will change his mind back to Clemson?
bhamwreck
January 1st, 2013
8:59 am
what were they overconfident about? Getting doubled up on yardage ? This makes you wonder if Alabama really should be a 10 point favorite against Notre Dame.
graphite
January 1st, 2013
9:01 am
Looks like the puppies have something to worry about ’til Sep. !! Just think,they have to play them both…. Might start now thinking about El Paso..RollOn……
HAHAHALSU
January 1st, 2013
9:06 am
Idiots at LSU actually thought the dawgs let Mettenberger go because of a rape charge????
This idiot can’t find his way out of a pass rush, he can’t throw a football and in essence is the John Brantley of LSU
Georgia let him go because he simply is not a good quarterback.
On the eighth day, God created the Oh So Mighty SEC
January 1st, 2013
9:09 am
“They needed terrible officiating and even more terrible playcalling by LSU on offense to do it….”
yes indeed, that’s all it was.
Why, everybody knows that if LSU had showed up, and the refs hadn’t been in Clemson’s pocket, and if they weren’t overconfident, and if clemson hadn’t gotten so lucky, LSU would have won by 50.
After all, Clemson doesn’t have that “SEC Speed”. No player in any other conference has that. Only SEC players. That’s why the NFL is made up entirely of SEC players. As far as i know, nobody from any other conference has ever been drafted.
And of course, LSU hadn’t played for weeks, so that had something to do with it as well. And they didn’t really want to be there, as they should have been playing in the BCS, and this was beneath them.
Clemson must not have been off so long. Only the SEC teams get affected by these things, Every team from every other conference is always at the top of their game when they play an SEC team. Matters not what the other team does, as they are only tackling dummies for whichever mighty SEC team they play, and the outcome will always be determined by how bored and insulted the SEC team is by having to be on the same field with a team from the vastly inferior(insert conference name here).
Some guy on here was saying “big whoop, LSU is terrible, blah blah”. Didn’t they beat every SEC team they played this season except one? Hmm…
Shug
January 1st, 2013
9:10 am
OU – Texas A&M is the 3rd best bowl matchup.
Wet Willie...keep on smiling
January 1st, 2013
9:15 am
1-The Clemson QB played like Joe Namath
2-The LSU offensive line had their azz handed to them
3-The LSU QB played like Jack Shat
4-Les Miles is a fool
5-Any NFL team that would even call Les Miles is stupid. The guy is so lucky to be at LSU and has that state talent all for LSU.
6-Dabo is a great person and pretty good coach. His offensive CO is very good and worth the money.
Congrats to GT and all the good fans. USC showed no respect and they paid for that. PJ might get a recruiting bump by using the spread option instead of the Bone. Well done.
Hope UGA plays well and wins today.
@Bhamwreck…call your bookie and take ND and the points if you feel Bama is overrated!
NCDawg
January 1st, 2013
9:15 am
Hats off to Clemson but LSU deserved to lose. Their offense is completely unimaginative and they did not execute 85% of the time. No team can stay on the field as much as they did and not give up yardage and points. The difference between Bama and LSU is the offense. Bama has some imagination, LSU is totally predictable. A well rested defense can jam the line of scrimmage and take away their running game and it is game over. LSU needs a new O-coordinator. They’ve got gobs of talent but it is severely under utilized. LSU lost this game but give Clemson credit… they were there to pick up the ticket.
Buddy Landel
January 1st, 2013
9:18 am
On the 8th day @ 9:09: well played.
Sideline reporter
January 1st, 2013
9:21 am
Oh DABO!!!!
Athens PD
January 1st, 2013
9:22 am
I’m 57 and my team is in the SEC. All other SEC teams are my mortal enemy. This crap about pulling for all SEC teams is BS. Good for Clemson! Now I’ll be pulling for Nebraska, Notre Dame, Michigan, Oklahoma and Northwestern. Vandy’s so over due, they get a pass.
Buzziswiser
January 1st, 2013
9:26 am
Hey Mark,
Missed you at the Sun Bowl. You should have taken the 7:10p to El Paso on Sunday night with Wes.
The Lane Kiffen beat down would have been worth the trip
That’s two games in a row you and Jeff have wiffed on the Jackets. Maybe you should relocate to Seneca with DRad. Sure the misses would love that.
too bad
January 1st, 2013
9:31 am
What was LSU thinking? with those passing/missing?
THE Dixie Redcoat Band
January 1st, 2013
9:35 am
Don’t be shocked if ND shows up and gives BAMA a good game.
MONKATL
January 1st, 2013
9:41 am
Give Clemson some CREDIT, and LSU some Humble PIE.
GT
January 1st, 2013
9:44 am
The ACC needed this in the worse way. Swinney, this year, has just started to learn how to coach. He still can’t out wit Steve Spurrier or even Paul Johnson but he has his team ready mentally, physically and can recruit talent. That defense knew what LSU was up to which usually doesn’t bother LSU, they are so physical. This Clemson team played like men.
MONKATL
January 1st, 2013
9:44 am
Great GAME for College FootBALL FANS! Thats the Peach, opps CHICK BOWL for Ya.
I am worried
January 1st, 2013
9:46 am
I am very worried about UGA having to play both these teams next year.
LSU was very physical and Clemson won because of the mobility of their QB. If Murray stays or if he does not stay we would get lit up by LSU’s pass rush….. memories of the South Carolina game where they just beat down the Dawgs.
Clemson on the other hand has a very diverse and powerful offense unlike anything we saw this year and probably will see next year. Yea Clemson lost to USC, but they played them within 10 points while we got embarrased on national tv.
Even if Murray comes back next year, our 2 games against LSU and Clempson are going to be probably losses.
Former Georgian
January 1st, 2013
9:47 am
Had to cheer for LSU because its in SEC but glad for Dabo Swinney, who’s
one of the good guys-the polar opposite of Danny Ford!
Charlie Browne
January 1st, 2013
9:50 am
Thanks for the very biased article touting how Clemson “acciently” beat and SEC team.
SWGADAWG
January 1st, 2013
9:51 am
Clemson didn’t so much win as Les Miles lost. Complete failure as a coach in the last 2 minutes.
Paddy
January 1st, 2013
9:53 am
Leave it to Les Miles to ‘out think the room’!
MONKATL
January 1st, 2013
9:53 am
Still like the PEACH BOWL Name for ATLANTA and History of the Bowl. Chick -fil -A with Peach ,
is Good together………….” YUMMY”!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAPPY 2013!
Road Scholar
January 1st, 2013
9:55 am
Hey Dawg fans….,how are you doing getting over your Reggie Ball moment against Alabama?
Go ACC! Go Tech! (by the way, were was that Tech defense earlier this year?!)
whatsthatsmell?
January 1st, 2013
9:57 am
Yup!! My team won a game that was graciously laid at its feet by a coach who never learned game clock management. Historical? LOL!!!!!!
jbill
January 1st, 2013
9:58 am
Hope Richt has his dawgs fired up for Nebraska because they are fired up for chance to move up by beating UGA. Go Dawgs….
Les Miles is another Rex Ryan both need to be fired.
Congrat to GT..one hell of a good job. Team and coaches made us proud.
Alabama is still#1 in my opinion.
Congrat to Clemson Tigers they deserved to win last night so stop your bitching. They out played LSU period.
Chick- Fil-A Bowl is first class Bowl..They know how its done..Great Job again.
Who is best AJC Sports Reporter?
1. Mark B
2.Jeff S
3. David O’Brian
4. D O falcons
Makes for interesting reading……opinions.
GT
January 1st, 2013
10:00 am
Dabo Swinney is good for all college football. Guys like him may even save the sports in the long run. Not only does he seem to have some character in order for college football to survive they need to spread the wealth around some. Granted Clemson, S.C. is not much different from most of the cow towns the SEC has located ,but for some reason Swinney has kept his head when others haven’t.
UGA = Yawn
January 1st, 2013
10:12 am
Really?! You write about Clempsun!!? Dago Swinney is an ass just as much as Clemson is. Georgia is the scum of the Earth and Clemson is right there next to them. THWG & C!
Jacket Dad
January 1st, 2013
10:12 am
Congrats to Clemson – they totally outplayed LSU and deserved to win the game. It’s good to give the mighty SEC a little humble pie.
Good Article
January 1st, 2013
10:13 am
Mark,
Good article. The ACC did need a landmark win as for some reason they always seem to wet the bed when it comes to playing out of conference games. I wish someone would do a study of turnovers and the unlucky streak the ACC has had with OOC. This almost doomed Clemson again as they ran up and down the field on LSU (32 first downs to LSU’s 8).
NC State ran the ball up and down the field for 200 more yard than Vandy, but had 5 turnovers which cost them the game….. NC State had 5 turnovers against Tenn. as well.
FSU had 5 turnovers against the Gators (the Gators only had 1).
Clemson lost the turnover battle to USC
GT rolled up 425+ yards on UGA (compared to 379 that UGA had) yet lost by 32 points due to some crucial turnovers that were 10 and 14 point swings.
Duke puts up 560 yards on Cincy in an OOC game, but are doomed by 4 turnovers to none for Cincy.
Yes it is part of the game, but very unlucky for the ACC as of late.
The point being, the top teams of the SEC are very good and the SEC is a better conference than the ACC. However, the SEC is a bit overated and the ACC is a bit underated.
The SEC has 14 teams this year which lends itself to there being more good teams and more bad teams. Top to bottom the SEC is not very balanced at all. You have the good teams beating up on the really bad teams and padding their record.
Hey SWGADAWG
January 1st, 2013
10:17 am
You are critical of Les Miles, but it was the armchair QB’s who critized the mad hatter for running the ball and being too conservative in their last drive against Bama.
Maybe you should be the coach….are you the one that also wants to be UGA’s coach? You sound like you have it all figured out…
Ward Gailey
January 1st, 2013
10:25 am
This old gamecock is happy to hear that the Clems won. Unlike many gamecocks, I wanted the other team from my home state to win.
Clay
January 1st, 2013
10:26 am
I didn’t have a dog in the fight so I enjoyed the game. Miles appears to be pretty consistent in making a lot of weird coaching decisions in a game as he did tonight. To the dipwad who identified himself as “on the eighth day God created the oh so mighty SEC” at 9:09, I believe LSU lost to two other SEC teams this year, Alabama and Florida.
Mulk
January 1st, 2013
10:28 am
I agree with Athens PD – I’m a Tech fan and they still a weak-ass team no matter how often Clemson wins. Or, Alabama. I don’t get it.? And, I can’t believe how much better Missouri and Texas A&M are now verses last year.
As for Mettenburger, I’ll predict that he’ll get drafted higher than Murray when he comes out of college.
Gene
January 1st, 2013
10:36 am
This bowl game has turned into a great event for Atlanta and football fans in the southeast. Miles apparently has been studying the Mark Richt text on game management. This includes the head coach’s refusal to take any responsibility for poor coaching decisions. Today Richt will give us “The Marshall Plan.” Good luck with that.
Dawgdad (The Original)
January 1st, 2013
10:43 am
This one was all on Les Miles. Mettenberger made some good throws when he had time, but his OL played poorly. Had LSU utilized their awesome running backs more, this would have been no contest.
BuckeyeBill
January 1st, 2013
10:44 am
Could it be that the SEC teams have top ranked defenses because of lack of good QB’s in the conference? With the exception of UGA, A&M, and Bama, the offenses of the other teams are offensive. So… the defenses all are highly ranked because most of the teams can’t complete two passes in a row against air and score 10 points a game. LSU and their vaunted defense got throttled all night by ACCClemson. Too bad Bama plays ND, another team with a mediocre offense so Bama will win another NC and the SEC can brag some more… Urban legend and Braxton Miller would pummell the Tide.
BuckeyeBill
January 1st, 2013
10:47 am
Urban Legend Meyer and Braxton Miller will be 26-0 after nest year and the Bucks will be national champions.
JoeFan
January 1st, 2013
10:51 am
Even though Notre Dame is not a full member in football, if they beat Alabama it will be a very good bowl season for the ACC.
BuckeyeBill
January 1st, 2013
10:51 am
SEC defenses are all rated high because the QB’s and offenses are weak. With the exception of UGA, A&M, and Bama, they have weak QB play and have trouble scoring on anyone that can apply pressure and make a few tackles. Put these teams in the Big 12 and with the exception of the 3 top SEC teams, the rest would give up 30 points per game.
MONKATL
January 1st, 2013
10:53 am
DA, COMMENTED the HUMBLE @ 9:41
Satan smells
January 1st, 2013
10:55 am
Once again the stupidest play in football results in a loss. The Three Man Rush on 4th and long gave the Clemson QB time to throw for a first down. After all these years and so many losses caused by this stupid play you would think that the NCAA woul ban it to protect the fans and for the good of the game. FIRE any DC that would call such a stupid defensive play. To make matters worse it was by the same coaching staff that kept throwing incompletons when they needed a couple of yards to run out the clock. RUN the ball stupid. Not an LSU fan but hate to see any team lose by calls from the management team. Run the ball and Spike the ball were ignored by two different coaching staffs that helped their team lose big games. Go Dawgs today and please use your heads and not do anything stupid. Happy New Year Mark and everybody (except Nebraska).
ahsoisee
January 1st, 2013
10:55 am
Clemson is a better team than LSU this year and proved it.. The only problem with Clemson is that they sometimes defeat themselves. I like both Les Miles and Dabo Swinney, but I doubt if Les Miles will lose much sleep over this loss. It was a great win for Dabo, and Les Miles probably realizes Dabo deserved this win.
ACC RULES !!!! YEAH BABY !!!
January 1st, 2013
10:57 am
CLEMS@N will make the Georgi bullfrogs eat humble pie in Death Valley this year too. It wont be the 30 – 0 fluke win like the mutts pulled some years ago. CLEMSON TIGERS ARE BACK WITH A VENGENCE!!!! Gonna Get some PAYBACK!!!!
Garfield58
January 1st, 2013
11:14 am
Wow! A lot of hate out there! SEC/ESPN fans really hate to lose and get defensive when the wool is uncovered exposing the over rated and over hyped SEC. I still don’t get the conference loyalty thing. Who cares if a team in your conference wins or loses? You should only care about your team, but it appears a lot folks get the shirt on sale at Wal Mart.
Dawg fan congrats to Clemson
January 1st, 2013
11:17 am
Great win by Clemson. Gutsy performance after injury to CU’s key player. Although I’m an SEC fan, my hat goes off to ACC and Clemson for a great win.
You deserve it!
7576DAWG
January 1st, 2013
11:27 am
I am so glad that Clemson won the game. One of my biggest fears was that Georgia would be over confident when they play Clemson next year and that because of the disrespect Clemson could sneak up on us and win but with this outcome Richt will be able to get the Dawgs ready for the Clemson game in 2013.
Thank you Les Miles for one of the poorest prepared games and worst Quarterback’s efforts I have ever seen from L.S.U.