Clemson validated its spotless 13-0 record and was more physical and faster than OU.
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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) – The Oklahoma Sooners were fooled by a fake punt and stuffed on fourth down when they tried some trickery of their own.
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“Really it started when (Wayne) Gallman had a 12-yard run to open up the second half”, said Mac Lain, who sports a thick and impressive playoff beard.
Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield meant to do the same thing and he did manage to pass for 311 yards and a touchdown, but the lack of a running game left him exposed too often.
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, center Ty Darlington and linebacker Eric Striker sat behind the podium, with the door entering the postgame interview room tucked around the corner.
Clemson (14-0) dominated the second half and shut down favored Oklahoma’s offense, which had averaged 52 points over its previous seven games.
Deshaun Watson comes up short on 3rd and 8 on a run that ended around the 50 yard line for the first Clemson offensive drive of the game.
Five minutes into the second half, Oklahoma was attempting to retake the lead after Clemson marched down for a touchdown on the first possession of the third quarter to go ahead 23-17.
It’s the second straight year the two meet in a bowl and, obviously, the stakes are much higher than last year’s 40-6 whipping Clemson handed the Sooners at the Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando. Clemson didn’t just grasp its opportunity in the College Football Playoff semifinal, it seized it in a manner so violent, suffocating and dominant it may finally recast the perception of these unbeaten yet underrated Tigers. “Y’all can’t doubt 14-0!”
On a balmy evening in south Florida, the orange-clad Clemson faithful gobbled up at least three-fourths of the seats at Sun Life Stadium, turning what was supposed to be a neutral-site game into Death Valley South. That culminated with a verbal tussle between players from the Tigers and Sooners after a luncheon the day before the game.
The play had given the Sooners momentum and secured an intermission lead, just in time for old Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman John Fogerty to take the halftime stage. “We were just running all over them”. In fact, Watson never truly got into a rhythm, and one of Clemson’s most efficient passes came from its punter, Andy Teasdall. Watson’s 35-yard pass to Hunter Renfrow gave the Tigers a 30-17 lead to finish off a four-play, 70-yard drive. Can they time it some year so the game clock and the old year count down the final seconds together? Then, running backs Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon left the game with a severe ankle injury and possible concussion, respectively, although the almost indestructible Perine returned to play, only to aggravate the injury. The Sooners turned a corner this year to become relevant in a way they hadn’t in some time.
“We’re not thinking of that”, Swinney said. “We lean on those guys pretty good”.
Not after soundly defeating Oklahoma, 37-17, in the Orange Bowl Thursday.
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The Tigers would go up 16-10 late in the quarter thanks to two Greg Huegel field goals, but the Sooners would regain the lead with less than two minutes in the quarter. Watson finished with 145 rushing yards to go along with 187 passing yards. “That’s where we pride ourselves, to win the battle in the trenches on both sides of the ball – that we’re going to be the more physical team”. Saban has won three national titles in the last six years at Alabama, to go along with a BCS title at LSU.
