|
"What I didn't realize was that we would have enough adversity for a
whole season," he laughed.
Yet the 11th-ranked Tigers managed to escape Papa John's Cardinal
Stadium with a 20-17 win over tough-luck Louisville in each team's
Atlantic Coast Conference opener, thwarting two potential
game-changing drives in the last 6 1/2 minutes.
On a night where Clemson (3-0, 1-0) alternated physical dominance
with a slew of mental and physical errors, its defense helped it
survive.
It forced the Cardinals (0-3, 0-1) to stall their penultimate drive
at the Tigers' 21, giving senior placekicker John Wallace a crack at
a game-tying 38-yard field goal. But Wallace, whose 54 career field
goals is just seven shy of the school record, hooked the attempt
left.
Louisville, who has lost its games by a total of 13 points, got one
more chance after forcing a 3-and-out and gaining possession at its
37 with 1:12 left. A 23-yard pass from quarterback Kyle Bolin to
tight end Micky Crum put it at the Clemson 37 with 38 seconds
remaining.
But end Kevin Dodd notched the Tigers' fifth sack of the night,
trapping Bolin at the 41. Out of timeouts, the Cardinals snapped the
ball for the last time with nine seconds left, but Bolin's
desperation throw toward the end zone was intercepted by strong
safety Jadar Jackson as time expired.
"We're just not very good right now on offense," Louisville coach
Bobby Petrino said. "We have a hard time running the football and
tonight we had a hard time converting third downs."
Petrino hoped that Bolin, his third different starter in as many
games, could give the offense a quick start. Instead, the Cardinals
punted on their first six possessions, Clemson's defensive line
consistently penetrating the backfield.
While Bolin hit 19 of 34 passes for 238 yards, he also tossed two
interceptions and didn't get a lot of help from his teammates. Wide
receiver Jaylen Smith, whose 55-yard reception in the second quarter
set up Wallace's 26-yard field goal, said the offense's mistakes
threw off their flow.
"There's always 3 or 4 plays in every game," Smith said. "We should
be 3-0. It's all I can think about."
[to top of second column] |
The Tigers weren't much sharper offensively, even though quarterback
Deshaun Watson completed 21 of 30 passes for 199 yards and two
touchdowns while running back Wayne Gallman churned out 139 yards on
24 rushes.
Watson threw two interceptions, one setting up a 1-yard plunge by
running back Jeremy Smith with 10:35 left in the third quarter that
gave Louisville a 10-7 edge. But Watson rebounded by leading two
straight scoring drives, firing a 25-yard touchdown pass to tight
end Jordan Leggett with 2:37 left in the third that snapped a 10-10
tie.
Kicker Greg Huegel's second field goal, a 27-yarder with 9:57 left,
supplied Clemson with a 20-10 advantage. But the Cardinals stormed
back into contention when freshman wide receiver Traveon Samuel
zipped 100 yards with the ensuing kickoff.
From there, the Tigers hung on for dear life, making just enough
plays to make up for an uneven showing.
"We weren't able to put them away," Swinney admitted. "At the end of
the day, we were able to dominate the line of scrimmage. This is the
type of game that can help the team grow."
NOTES: Clemson C Ryan Norton (knee) sat out with a sprained MCL and
was replaced by Jay Guillermo. ... This game marked the fourth
consecutive year that the Tigers opened their ACC schedule on the
road. ... Louisville WR James Quick (sprained ankle) missed his
second game in a row. He was injured Sept. 5 in the season opener
against Auburn.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
