The Tigers took the win by the score of 37-17. The Sooners came into the game as favorites. Clemson still leads in yards, 205-183 – but Oklahoma needed something to stop the Tigers’ momentum, and got it. “And this team is uncommon in everything that they do”.
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Just moments after Dabo Swinney and his Tigers had been buried in confetti – and praise – for their shocking rout of Oklahoma in the first College Football Playoff semifinal, someone dared mention the term “Clemsoning” in the postgame press conference and asked if it was time to put that choking label to rest. “Not having Joe and Samaje for basically the entire second half, that makes a difference”, Sooners offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley said.
The second play that summed up Clemson’s dominance came from brains as much as brawn.
Clemson finally got some momentum going in the 2nd quarter from an unexpected source. The Heisman finalist also ran for 145 yards on 24 carries, scoring the Tigers’ first touchdown on a 5-yard run. Every single play, he sets the tone defensively for the Tigers.
The play kept the drive alive and capped off a 96-yard drive for Clemson.
They don’t come any looser than the colorful, quotable Swinney, who has championed locker room moves to the extent that he’s a candidate for “Dancing With the Stars”. It’s a great opportunity for them. “I think this year we wanted to sort of take the game and really thought our guys had a vision of what they wanted and everybody paid the price for what they had to do in preparation”.
As if playing for the national championship wasn’t enough motivation, No. 1 Clemson (14-0) will be vying for a piece of college football history as well when it meets No. 2 Alabama (13-1) in Glendale, Arizona on January 11 in the title game. He’s been one of Ohio State’s best defensive players and commands double-teams by numerous Buckeyes’ opponents.
“We had too many stupid penalties, myself included”, Flowers said after the game.
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.
Lawson suffered a knee injury on the opening drive of the game.
His defensive mates did just fine without him. “In this point, this championship drive, talent doesn’t win a game, it’s the will. They seemed to have that edge and that will in the second half and we didn’t”. RB Wayne Gallman added 150 yards and a couple of TD’s to add to the scoring.
“It’s been a long journey”, said Mac Lain, the former tight end who had made only one start before this season. The play resulted in a three-yard loss, but it essentially marked the beginning of the end for the Sooners.
After exiting early in the game against Oklahoma, Lawson said he would play in the title game against Alabama.
Watson ran for 149 yards and passed for another 187 on Thursday. After Boulware leaped to make the pick at the goal line, Mayfield dove into the linebacker to make the tackle, took a knee to the head and staggered off the field.
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In fact, the redshirt freshman Wilkins is spectacularly athletic, and Swinney said his team had practiced that play often.
