Clemson Crushes Seminoles Despite Historically Bad Kicking

By MikeBullock  |   Monday, November 09, 2009  |  Comments( 1 )

Clemson Tigers
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It’s not often you can leave nine points on the table and still win against a tough opponent. Clemson did just that Saturday, mainly on the legs of rocket running back C.J. Spiller, who raced for 165 yards and one touchdown, on his way to 312 total yards in his career best game.

Anyone who says Spiller isn’t Heisman worthy, or at least worthy of the conversation, is delusional. While one might seek to deny him that accolade, it’s very apparent he’ll be racking up a lot more yards on Sundays in the not so distant future.

But make no mistake, Spiller didn’t do it all on his own, as quarterback Kyle Parker fired four scoring strikes and backup running back Andre Ellington added his own 9.0 yards per carry average and a touchdown to the mix.

Looking at those stats, it would seem like Clemson clearly destroyed Florida State, but the drama came on the heels of, or rather the toe of, three missed extra points and two shanked field goals. It became downright uncanny when kicker Richard Jackson bounced two PATs in a row off the right upright at about the exact same spot in the fourth quarter as Clemson sought to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

The Tigers entered the fourth quarter, down by three, and those very same kicking blunders hanging over their head, seemingly waiting to cost the Tigers the game. However, the Clemson defense picked off Seminole QB Christian Ponder twice in the final period and the Tiger offense built off that to score three touchdowns in the waning moments. Regardless of the two doinked PAT attempts, that was all she wrote for Florida State’s hopes of taking a win from Death Valley.

Worse yet for the Seminoles, was Ponder’s valiant effort to stop DeAndre McDaniel from returning his interception for a touchdown. McDaniel, known as one of the ACC’s heavy hitters, took the wood to the already ailing Ponder, sending him sailing out of the game. While Ponder did prevent McDaniel from scoring, he also ended any hope his team might have had of saving the game in some sort of last moment heroics. Granted, his four picks might have already done that anyway.

With the last major hurdle behind them, the Tigers must now look forward to NC State, Virginia and South Carolina on their way to the Orange Bowl and a chance to become ACC Atlantic Division Champions for the first time since 1991.
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