Reese’s Piece: The ACC Championship Review.
The Clemson football team beat the North Carolina Tarheels on Saturday night and captured its’ 15th ACC championship. The 45-37 victory also gave coach Dabo Swinney his second conference title and a chance to contend for his first national championship. But standing in his way will be Bob Stoops and a revengeful Oklahoma Sooner team. Last year, the Sooners were embarrassed 40-6 by the Tigers in the Russell Athletic Bowl and Clemson is the last team left on their pay back tour.
The ACC championship game was sold out for the third time in Charlotte and a Clemson team was involved in two of the sellouts. The fans got to see a competitive game that had a controversial ending.
I will give my review of the game and then touch on the play that has some people talking.
Offensive review. The offense struggled to run the ball and to connect on deep passes in the first half. QB Deshaun Watson still managed to run for 99 yards and direct the offense to a 21-15 lead despite the five punts. The second half saw a different Clemson offense with RB Wayne Gallman running aggressively and finishing the game with 187 yards. His running and Watson’s precise passing led to touchdowns on 3 of the first four drives with a tipped pass interception being the only stop for the UNC defense. The offense possessed the ball for over thirty eight minutes and finished the game with 602 yards of total offense. Not bad after starting slowly.
Clemson fans made the Bank of America Stadium look orange.
Offensive stars. Watson is an absolute no brainer and Gallman deserves recognition too. Watson showed why he was worthy of a trip to New York as a Heisman finalist. He glided through the UNC defense for 131 yards and passed for 289 yards. His 5 scores of the seven total by the Tigers illustrates how much he means to his team and how much he can affect a game.
The Wayne Train was on time in the second half. He repeatedly ran through tackles and showed fans how versatile he can be. Along with his rushing yards(187), he also had 4 catches for 68 yards. His two touchdowns were big and his ability to pick up blitzing players helped keep Watson upright.
Defensive review. This unit gave up 37 points and continued the recent trend of giving up chunk plays, but again the Tigers won. The lack of depth at some positions showed up in the fourth period where UNC scored on two of their three possessions. But to truly judge them, you have to look at the numbers from the game. UNC was held to 382 total yards which is more than 100 yards below their average. QB Marquise Williams came into the game completing 65% of his passes but finished the game 12-35. Clemson also held the Heels rushing attack to 142 yards and RB Elijah Hood to 65 yards.
Dec 5, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Clemson Tigers defensive end Shaq Lawson (90) and safety T.J. Green (15) react after the play during the first half in the ACC football championship game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports
Defensive stars. Defensive ends Shaq Lawson and Kevin Dodd have been wreaking havoc all year and they continued on Saturday. Coming into the game, Marquise Williams had only been sacked 12 times but Lawson and Dodd showed why they are probably the best tandem in college football. They combined for 3.5 sacks and 5 quarterback hurries.
Conspiracy theory. Of course, the offsides call on the onside kick with 1:13 left in the game was a hot topic. I’ve heard everything from UNC getting hosed, to the ACC conspiring to keep Clemson alive so the conference could secure a playoff berth. Did the official botch the call? I don’t really know and no one really knows. The play is shown from the camera angles that are available but there isn’t a camera that shows down the 35 yard line where the official was positioned. If any part of a player crossed that line before the kick, then the official had to make the call. Evidently, he felt like he saw something before the kick and he made the offside call.
As for the conspiracy theory that has been uttered by a few ESPN employees, I think they should be ashamed for even implying such. The conspiracy theory can easily be refuted. Why not let the Tarheels score and make a phantom call to take it away? In the Miami vs Duke and the Michigan State vs Nebraska games, a touchdown was given from a controversial call. Those calls determined the final score. That was not the case in Saturday’s game. UNC was down by 8, had to get a touchdown, and a two point conversion just to tie the game. And even though, they moved quickly on their prior possessions. It doesn’t mean that they would have scored.
By the way, an onside kick is a terrible play to use in a conspiracy. It’s only successful less than 20 percent of the time plus calling offsides requires a re-kick and hence another chance for a Tarheel recovery.
Unsung hero. WR Hunter Renfrow. The aforementioned second onside kick was recovered by Renfrow. During the post game press conference, Coach Swinney said, “…probably the smallest guy on the field came up with the ball. And when they challenged it. I said did you have that ball and he said, coach I had it and I showed it to the ref.” His recovery sealed the game.
Fan appreciation. The fans have supported the 13-0 Clemson football team through a great season and are ready for what ever will happen against Oklahoma on Dec. 31. We at RTR asked Layla Ewald(August Fan of the Month) and Jennifer Shore(Clemson ’97) to share a few words about the season.
Layla: Every year I think man, what would it be like to be THAT team? To be undefeated and going to the playoffs with hopes of playing for the National Championship. This year WE are that team. It feels like a dream, but it also feels pretty darn good. I’m just trying to enjoy the moment, take it all in. Playoff bound! Go Tigers!
Jennifer Shores(far left), Layla Ewald, Dustin Ewald, and friends tailgating before the big game. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Shores.
Jennifer: What a season! We had an amazing time in Charlotte for the ACCCG but we aren’t finished. I get very sentimental when I think of the ’81 Tigers and how lucky I was to be a kid at those games. That year my family made it to every game except the National Championship in The Orange Bowl. My dad always reflected on that being one of his biggest regrets- not being at the National Championship. I don’t know if we’ll make it to Phoenix, but if we do. I’m going to be there for every step of the way!! Just booked the hotel for Miami, just need to figure out tickets and air fare . Thanks for including our pic and stories in your articles. I hope the best is yet to come!! Go Tigers!!