5 Plays I Want Back
By: Roy Philpott
With Clemson driving early in the fourth quarter, wide receiver Derrick Hamilton, who had struggled the entire night with several dropped passes, appeared to have a wide open path to the end zone on a reverse from 35 yards out. However instead of scoring, Hamilton seemingly tackled himself in the open field and the Tigers were forced to settle for a field goal.
The play seemed to be a sure touchdown until Hamilton unexpectedly went down.
The Tigers would drive down to the State’s 4-yard line before Jad Dean would convert a 21-yard field goal to move the score to 17-9. Aside from not scoring seven points, the drive also wasted priceless minutes off the clock.
The Tigers would later score a touchdown, but miss the two-point conversion to leave the final score at 17-15, leaving Clemson fans to wonder, “what if” had Hamilton scored.
2006: Dean Missed Field Goal vs. South Carolina
This one, obviously, is still fresh in the minds of Clemson fans.
Trailing 31-28 with 7:51 left in the game, the Tigers began their final drive from their own 20 yard line. After methodically moving the ball down the field behind the tough running of Reggie Merriweather and C.J. Spiller, Clemson was poised to score the go-ahead touchdown.
Instead, with Spiller having to sit out with an ankle injury and an injured James Davis unable to carry the load, the Tigers had to settle for a 39-yard Jad Dean field goal attempt to tie.
Dean, who struggled during his senior season after being named one of the top three kickers in the country the year before, missed the attempt wide left as time expired.
Many would argue Clemson lost the game when Merriweather, a senior, wasn’t put back in to finish the drive after Spiller went out. After all, the crowd came to life with chants of “Reggie! Reggie!” and Merriweather seemed to provide an instant spark.
Still, it was Dean’s miss that will linger in the minds of Clemson fans through the years.
2005: Failed Fake Field Goal vs. Wake Forest
With just over two and half minutes left to play and clinging to a three-point lead, Jad Dean lined up for what appeared to be a 44-yard field goal. Upon receiving the snap from center, holder Cole Chason got up from his knee, took a few steps to the left and pitched it to Dean, who was immediately tackled by LB Alphonso Smith. It was an ugly play that was seemingly doomed from the very beginning.
The Deacs took over at their own 34 and promptly drove down the field for the winning score.
Had the Tigers converted the field goal, or punted, or converted a fourth down- they likely would have won the game.
Making matters worse is that Clemson actually made it to the Deacons’ 3-yard line after a Charlie Whitehurst completion to Curtis Baham on the following drive. But without any time outs, the clock ran out and the Tigers lost the game.
“I anticipated needing points, not a field goal,” Bowden said of his decision to call a fake field goal. “If they scored a touchdown, which they did, they would have won the game anyway. I was trying to win the game. We were just trying to make something happen and win the game. If we convert that and continue on, the game’s over."
2005: Whitehurst Misses Stuckey vs. Miami
Trailing 20-10 late in the fourth quarter against No. 13 Miami, Clemson’s defense stiffened and the offense did just enough to put the Tigers back in the game.
After Charlie Whitehurst culminated an 81-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge on third down to move the score to 20-17, the Clemson defense needed one more stand to have a chance at the upset.
After Miami went three and out on arguably the loudest three plays in the history of Memorial Stadium, the Tigers set up shop on their own 44 with 1:20 left in the game. After moving down to the Miami 10-yard line, Whitehurst threw two incompletions to leave Clemson facing a 3rd-and-10.
After taking the snap, Whitehurst quickly realized the Hurricanes’ defense came with an all out blitz, forcing him to throw the ball a 1/10 second faster than he wanted to. With Chansi Stuckey breaking wide open on an out pattern, the ball sailed just over his head to force Clemson into a game-tying field goal.
Had the Tigers converted that play, Clemson would have started the season 3-0, with wins over Texas A&M, Maryland and Miami. Instead the Tigers would lose a heartbreaker in triple overtime, 36-30.
2004: Bad Snap vs. Georgia Tech
Following a four-game winning streak to close the 2003 season, including wins over nationally ranked Florida State and Tennessee, the Tigers seemed poised to take the next step at the start of the 2004 season.
After a double-overtime win over a scrappy Wake Forest team in the first game of the year, those thoughts only intensified.
Unfortunately it made the second game of the season that much more painful to lose.
After establishing two 10-point leads late in the fourth quarter, 20th ranked Clemson would fall to unranked Georgia Tech on a series of unthinkable plays.
The Tigers had the ball on their own 41-yard line with 1:50 left in the game, leading 24-21 after recovering an onside kick. On first down, Charlie Whitehurst rushed nine yards (and likely could have gotten more yardage before sliding) to setup a second and short. After two attempts to get the first down failed, the Tigers lined up in punt formation with less than 30 seconds remaining.
A punt covering any sort of distance would have been likely been enough to give Clemson the win.
Unfortunately, long snapper Geoff Rigsby rolled the ball back towards punter Cole Chason. Chason was unable to get away the kick and play resulted in a loss of 26 yards, all the way back to Clemson’s 11-yard line.
All it took was one play for Reggie Ball to connect with future all-world wide receiver Calvin Johnson to life the Yellow Jackets to the win.
While the snap was bad, the fact that cornerback Justin Miller was left in single coverage with a 6-5 receiver who had already caught two long touchdown passes earlier in the game was even worse.
The Tigers would go on to lose their next three games before ending the season at a disappointing 6-5.
How could Clemson lose at home to a team it pummeled 39-3 the previous season on the road? You tell me.
There have been many plays during the last five years that have seen Clemson football pull off the unthinkable. However today, we take a look at what happens with the unthinkable goes against the Tigers.
Here are five plays from the last five years I'd like to have back. I excluded games that were arguably decided by a bad call or by penalty.
2003: Phantom Tackle vs. N.C. State
Remember this game? It was a Thursday night game in Raleigh during Phillip Rivers’ final season of his 17-year college football career. N.C. State scored the first 10 points in the second half to increase its lead to 17-6.
Here are five plays from the last five years I'd like to have back. I excluded games that were arguably decided by a bad call or by penalty.
2003: Phantom Tackle vs. N.C. State
Remember this game? It was a Thursday night game in Raleigh during Phillip Rivers’ final season of his 17-year college football career. N.C. State scored the first 10 points in the second half to increase its lead to 17-6.
With Clemson driving early in the fourth quarter, wide receiver Derrick Hamilton, who had struggled the entire night with several dropped passes, appeared to have a wide open path to the end zone on a reverse from 35 yards out. However instead of scoring, Hamilton seemingly tackled himself in the open field and the Tigers were forced to settle for a field goal.
The play seemed to be a sure touchdown until Hamilton unexpectedly went down.
The Tigers would drive down to the State’s 4-yard line before Jad Dean would convert a 21-yard field goal to move the score to 17-9. Aside from not scoring seven points, the drive also wasted priceless minutes off the clock.
The Tigers would later score a touchdown, but miss the two-point conversion to leave the final score at 17-15, leaving Clemson fans to wonder, “what if” had Hamilton scored.
2006: Dean Missed Field Goal vs. South Carolina
This one, obviously, is still fresh in the minds of Clemson fans.
Trailing 31-28 with 7:51 left in the game, the Tigers began their final drive from their own 20 yard line. After methodically moving the ball down the field behind the tough running of Reggie Merriweather and C.J. Spiller, Clemson was poised to score the go-ahead touchdown.
Instead, with Spiller having to sit out with an ankle injury and an injured James Davis unable to carry the load, the Tigers had to settle for a 39-yard Jad Dean field goal attempt to tie.
Dean, who struggled during his senior season after being named one of the top three kickers in the country the year before, missed the attempt wide left as time expired.
Many would argue Clemson lost the game when Merriweather, a senior, wasn’t put back in to finish the drive after Spiller went out. After all, the crowd came to life with chants of “Reggie! Reggie!” and Merriweather seemed to provide an instant spark.
Still, it was Dean’s miss that will linger in the minds of Clemson fans through the years.
2005: Failed Fake Field Goal vs. Wake Forest
With just over two and half minutes left to play and clinging to a three-point lead, Jad Dean lined up for what appeared to be a 44-yard field goal. Upon receiving the snap from center, holder Cole Chason got up from his knee, took a few steps to the left and pitched it to Dean, who was immediately tackled by LB Alphonso Smith. It was an ugly play that was seemingly doomed from the very beginning.
The Deacs took over at their own 34 and promptly drove down the field for the winning score.
Had the Tigers converted the field goal, or punted, or converted a fourth down- they likely would have won the game.
Making matters worse is that Clemson actually made it to the Deacons’ 3-yard line after a Charlie Whitehurst completion to Curtis Baham on the following drive. But without any time outs, the clock ran out and the Tigers lost the game.
“I anticipated needing points, not a field goal,” Bowden said of his decision to call a fake field goal. “If they scored a touchdown, which they did, they would have won the game anyway. I was trying to win the game. We were just trying to make something happen and win the game. If we convert that and continue on, the game’s over."
2005: Whitehurst Misses Stuckey vs. Miami
Trailing 20-10 late in the fourth quarter against No. 13 Miami, Clemson’s defense stiffened and the offense did just enough to put the Tigers back in the game.
After Charlie Whitehurst culminated an 81-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge on third down to move the score to 20-17, the Clemson defense needed one more stand to have a chance at the upset.
After Miami went three and out on arguably the loudest three plays in the history of Memorial Stadium, the Tigers set up shop on their own 44 with 1:20 left in the game. After moving down to the Miami 10-yard line, Whitehurst threw two incompletions to leave Clemson facing a 3rd-and-10.
After taking the snap, Whitehurst quickly realized the Hurricanes’ defense came with an all out blitz, forcing him to throw the ball a 1/10 second faster than he wanted to. With Chansi Stuckey breaking wide open on an out pattern, the ball sailed just over his head to force Clemson into a game-tying field goal.
Had the Tigers converted that play, Clemson would have started the season 3-0, with wins over Texas A&M, Maryland and Miami. Instead the Tigers would lose a heartbreaker in triple overtime, 36-30.
2004: Bad Snap vs. Georgia Tech
Following a four-game winning streak to close the 2003 season, including wins over nationally ranked Florida State and Tennessee, the Tigers seemed poised to take the next step at the start of the 2004 season.
After a double-overtime win over a scrappy Wake Forest team in the first game of the year, those thoughts only intensified.
Unfortunately it made the second game of the season that much more painful to lose.
After establishing two 10-point leads late in the fourth quarter, 20th ranked Clemson would fall to unranked Georgia Tech on a series of unthinkable plays.
The Tigers had the ball on their own 41-yard line with 1:50 left in the game, leading 24-21 after recovering an onside kick. On first down, Charlie Whitehurst rushed nine yards (and likely could have gotten more yardage before sliding) to setup a second and short. After two attempts to get the first down failed, the Tigers lined up in punt formation with less than 30 seconds remaining.
A punt covering any sort of distance would have been likely been enough to give Clemson the win.
Unfortunately, long snapper Geoff Rigsby rolled the ball back towards punter Cole Chason. Chason was unable to get away the kick and play resulted in a loss of 26 yards, all the way back to Clemson’s 11-yard line.
All it took was one play for Reggie Ball to connect with future all-world wide receiver Calvin Johnson to life the Yellow Jackets to the win.
While the snap was bad, the fact that cornerback Justin Miller was left in single coverage with a 6-5 receiver who had already caught two long touchdown passes earlier in the game was even worse.
The Tigers would go on to lose their next three games before ending the season at a disappointing 6-5.
How could Clemson lose at home to a team it pummeled 39-3 the previous season on the road? You tell me.
posted by Roy Philpott @ 1:52 PM
12 Comments
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12 Comments:
These are 5 good plays to have back. You could also add a couple from last year's BC game: either the second half kick off return or the non-interception call.
Honorable mention would be the 2006 MD game with the penalty for not enough men on the line or the 2005 GT game with the same penalty.
In the Miami game, if a certain freshman big guy vaguely touches anybody, the pressure wouldn't have been felt so much...Charlie knee jerked a little also.
Those were definitely good ones, Roy. I remember them all too well, unfortunately. The only one I might have changed is the NC State because I don't believe winning that game would have put us in a BCS game. In fact, we probably would have lost to FSU if we had won that game and weren't up against the wall. Instead of that one, I would have said either the Michael Palmer absence from the line of scrimmage against MD last season, which cost us the ACC Championship, or the other TE absence against GT in 2005 (I believe it was Thomas Hunter), which cost us that game. Let's try to play every snap with 11 players on the field in 2007!
tgroves
I still can't get over Reggie being taken out against the coots. WTF simply WTF.
Hey Roy,
I have to give Dean a pass on the USC miss, and not because Reggie did not keep carrying the ball. I was standing and cheering "Reggie" too, but it was Proctor running out of bounds for a 5 or 6 yd loss that set up the FG from 39 yds.
Proctor even pumped twice while rolling to his left, so he could have thrown it away and saved the yards. Instead Dean had a much longer FG try with added pressure of USC being pumped up after the 3rd down stop and loss of yds by Proctor.
Another play earlier in the same game was uur TE fumbling after the catch around our 35 yd line. I think it was Hunter, who was as solid a player as any TE for us recently. However, he had a good catch and tried for more - only to give the ball over to USC. A sustained drive there would have put the game away (we were up 14 pts and in the 4th).
Dean missed a few last year, but although that one hurt the most I have to give some others credit for the loss.
The South Carolina game was great. My favorite play was James Davis showing off his defensive skills knocking the ball out before Tubby could score. So many times in that game I thought we had em. Just got out coached.
The Georgia Tech game was a heartbreaker. I always hear people talk about the bad snap. No one ever asks "why didn't Chason kick the ball out of the end zone?" At that point you're only giving up two points and you're still leading. Tech would have had to drive the length of the field to win. Not make one eleven yard completion.
How about the missed field goal from Aaron Hunt in 2002 against Georgia that was SHORT? The 46 yarder? That one really hurt I thought.
I was at 4/5 and the only one I wasn't at was the Wake Forest game, and you better believe me that I was huddled up in my room with the radio on going crazy and very angry at the same time. reading this list kinda hurt, ha
The snap didnt lose the GA tech game. Yusef Kelly fumbled the ball on 3rd down, after he had the game clinching 1st down. THAT was the key play in the loss
you gotta football skating across the ground from a bad snap and a good number of big defenders chasing after it... first off, the chance of him getting a punt off are slim to none - more than likely if he tried that, he would have gotten tackled about the time he turned to put his foot on the ball, which probably would have resulted in a faster TD... and secondly, he's not thinking punt, he's thinking, crap, i've gotta cover that ball up. 95% of punters would have done the same thing... and i'm willing to bet that the people whining about it would have as well, if not worse.
I'd like to have back that toss-sweep in OT against BC. We ran that play once for a TD earlier in the game. Problem was, the attempt in OT was the only other time that game we came out in that split-back formation. Everyone in the stadium knew what was coming.
With 1st & Goal at the 3, I would much rather have seen JD 3 times in a row....just like we did a week later to put the FSU game away.
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