"First-and-35"

Clemson 13, South Carolina 9

And so ends another rivalry game, the 103rd meeting between the Fighting Tigers and the Gamecocks of South Carolina.

Before I get into the details of the contest, I just want to say this. I'm a junior at Furman, and I have a lot of good friends for whom I have all the love, respect, and admiration in my heart. But many of them have on occasion made light or given me grief about my love for Clemson football. While I was just starting to plug into "rivalry mode" as I call it last week, most of them were consumed with beating Wofford or I-AA playoff hopes. The Clemson/USC rivalry just doesn't register very high on their pigskin radar, and they don't understand how I can get so pumped up about teams that, more often than not, aren't battling it out with all the chips on the table, i.e., for a conference championship, a playoff/BCS berth, whatever. It's been a huge bone of contention for us.

To that end, I say, "Oh well." They just don't get it. And that's okay. A lot of people outside the elite schools of the state don't get it. It's not something we can share. This is MY rivalry. I'm not ashamed to be a Tiger fan even though I'm a Paladin at the same time. I bleed purple both ways - one way just happens to be tinted with orange. If I get grief for it, so be it. If I'm labeled a traitor to Furman, so be it. My family and my close friends know very well that I cheered FOR Furman when Clemson played host to them two years ago (I was a freshman then). My loyalty to Furman football is unquestioned, but I will always be a Tiger fan. The Clemson/USC rivalry means the world to me (I know the world isn't very much in the big scheme of things, but what more can I say?). I live and breathe this rivalry each day of my life. I bask in the thrilling joy of beating the Gamecocks and savoring the win for 364 days. I grieve in consternation when they beat us and claim the bragging rites. Vicarious living at its best.

This rivalry is about pride. Old-fashioned, hard-earned, grind-it-out-in-the-trenches pride. Proving that we're the best in the state. Showing that no matter what the other school has accomplished during the year, we can still go down there and kick the pants off them. I really don't care if other forms of media notice us or not. That doesn't change the fact that we play for pride. Not for the ACC/SEC title or the fill-in-the-blank Bowl. Pride - it's that simple. And if other people can't understand that, then I'm sorry. We're not elite rivals that garner national appeal like other schools. We're not guaranteed to be televised by ESPN, ABC, or Jefferson Pilot Sports (as this year proved). We're not Auburn vs. Alabama. We're not Vanderbilt vs. Tennessee, Florida State vs. Florida, or even Furman vs. Wofford. We're Clemson/USC. That's how it's been since 1896, and that's how it is now. Neither Clemson nor USC is morally better than the other; neither is the model a perfect school should live up to (and neither is Furman). But pride is what our statewide clash is about. It's my rivalry; it's the rivalry of every fan that has invested so much of their lives to the significance of this one game. And that's all that needs to be said.

NOW ... thoughts on the game ...

- The drive down to Columbia was not nearly as bad as I feared. It wasn't until we got to Bluff Road, which puts us about three miles from Williams-Brice-Stadium, that we hit bumper-to-bumper traffic. Of course, having Anna Kate, Susannah, and her friend Adam Pitts in the car helped to make the drive an enjoyable one. It's also worth noting that this was my first game, excluding Furman, to attend without my parents. So yay for growth! (right...)

- Driving and dinner also went without a hitch. $10 for parking is a GREAT deal when you consider the factors. And even better, we parked right next to a gas station that just happened to have a Subway attached. Coolness!

- We got to the stadium with plenty of time before kickoff (over an hour). Security was so nice and polite; we all brought bottled drinks in, and they let us keep them. :) Anna Kate and I shared a box of popcorn to pass time.

- Much as I despise USC, I have to say their band is a nifty one. I feel kinda bad that "2001: A Space Odyssey" is forever ruined as a song I can enjoy because it's the USC theme. But hey, there's always "Eye of the Tiger."

- Pre-game handshake. I appreciated the gesture by both schools, but (and this is just my opinion, which means nothing) I still felt it was painfully forced to close the book on the 2004 debacle, which has been and will remain known as "The Brawl." I'm of the mind that pre-game gestures dissolve once the ball is kicked off, and you first get smashed in the mouth. Same is true for the "revenge factor." I'd prefer it if both teams "closed the book" by letting their actions on the field determine it. Which they did, for the most part. It was a generally "clean" game.

- The [Georgia Tech] Tigers showed up for the first half. We looked flat and out of sync on every offensive play. You know things are bad when your fifth-year senior QB throws as many pass completions (2) as interceptions, and his yardage total matches the number of his jersey (6).

- USC, however, stormed out and looked poised to take control of the game early. Blake Mitchell was slinging the ball left and right down the field, and our secondary struggled to keep up. Their tailback Mike Davis (brother of Clemson tailback James) tore gaping holes in our offensive line for big chunks of yardage. I remember looking at Anna Kate and saying "They haven't been able to run the ball all year, and now look what they're doing!" Heh.

- Despite the yards given up in the first half (264), the Tiger defense played well enough to keep us within striking distance. If not for the powerful leg of Jad Dean and our defense, we would've trailed at least 14-0, and that may have taken the wind out of our sails. As it was, we were fortunate to go into halftime trailing only 6-3, having held Carolina out of the endzone on some tough short yardage situations.

- I heard an older man behind me saying "I'll bet ol' Tommy's giving one of his rousing speeches to the team right now." That shows you how much we're used to playing with our backs to the wall. I'd like it to be the other way around now and then, especially against USC, but the fact that he could say that speaks volumes about how we are trained to respond. One thing you never, ever do in a football game is to count Tommy Bowden out. He will come after you and get his team to fight you until there are no ticks left on the clock. It's happened so many times in the past, and our section of 10,000 or so Clemson fans hoped he could pull another miracle out of his hat then. So as concerned as I was at halftime, I had faith that we could still get the win. Somehow, we'd make it happen.

- In the closing seconds of halftime, I caught Will Proctor, our backup QB, throwing warm-up passes near the sidelines. Charlie was doing the same, but it told me the coaches were pondering the wisdom of benching him for the second half. Anna Kate definitely wanted to see Proctor get some snaps. I wouldn't have minded seeing him in action either, if it gave our offense the spark it needed to stay in the game. As I learned later, they were going to give Charlie one more drive to produce. And as it turned out, it was a very wise decision.

- The Tigers took the kickoff and went to work, chugging across the field and making efficient, if not spectacular plays. Davis finally began to make some long strides, penetrating the USC line and finding yards after the contact as Whitehurst settled down and changed tactics. Instead of forcing the long throws off his back foot into double coverage, he started using short screens and dump-offs to his receivers, and waiting until the right moment to go long. The difference was immediate. After a horrendous 6-11 for 27 yards and two INTS in the first half, Charlie went 11-15 for 145 yards in the second. Major kudos to Rob Spence for the halftime adjustments he made. So needless to say, the [Georgia Tech] Tigers took the bus home, and the [Florida State] Tigers took over.

- We nearly had a pulsating TD on a James Davis run to finish off our first drive, but it was nullified by a holding penalty against Dustin Fry. Still, we salvaged the drive with a 23-yard field goal by Jad Dean, pulling us to a 6-6 tie with USC and giving us some much-needed momentum. In that hostile environment, we needed every drop.

- We went back on defense with every intention of stopping USC on three-and-out. That didn't work out very well, as Blake Mitchell and Mike Davis forged ahead with their pass/run punch, and before we knew it, we were backed up at our own 25-yard-line with the Gamecocks driving for a touchdown. But at that point, the Tiger D bent no further. Facing 3rd-and-9 from the 24, Mitchell tossed a pass down the middle to Sidney Rice , and it was senior safety Jamaal Fudge (one of Anna Kate's favorite players) who came down with the interception.

- Sadly, despite some timely ball movement, the Tiger offense wasn't quite awake enough to capitlize on USC's turnover and shove it down their throats. We bogged down at the 25 and attempted a 42-yard-Jad Dean field goal that was partially blocked. USC took over, but our defense stiffened again and got the three-and-out that we were looking for. But then disaster struck. USC's Josh Brown punted the football, and it bounced inside the 20-yard line, where Chansi Stuckey scampered to try to scoop it up. Big mistake. The ball popped off his hand, and a second later, it was trapped by a USC defender. A collective groan went out from our section as the rest of Williams-Brice erupted in cheers. It was one of many chances we gave USC to take over the whole game.

- So once again, it was up to the Tiger D to bail us out, with USC on our 11-yard line, and thankfully, they were more than up to the task. Three offensive plays netted the Gamecocks -2 yards, capped off by three of our big defenders stuffing Mike Davis on a run. Still, Josh Brown got them a score with a 29-yard-field goal. 9-6, USC.

And then came the drive of the game. The one moment that everyone will remember USC/Clemson 2005 for.

- Clemson began first-and-10 at the 20, and Whitehurst hit wide receiver Aaron Kelly in his stride for a huge 27-yard reception to place us on the 47-yard-line. Then came the stupid penalties. Twice, Chip Myrick was hit with clipping and holding penalties on back-to-back plays. 15 and 10 yards of backward regression to our own 22.

So there we were. Facing an impossible 1st-and-35 situation. The Carolina fans were going ballistic, jumping up and down, practically rocking the stadium while we Tiger fans could only hold our collective breath and pray. So what happened? The Tigers did what theyve always done when the going got tough. They got going in a big way.
First, Whitehurst dumped a short pass to Davis for 9 yards to the 31. 2nd-and-26.

Then, Whitehurst hit Stuckey down the middle for 14 yards to the 45. 3rd-and-12.

Finally, Whitehurst rolled out and found clutch receiver Curtis Baham on the left side. Baham caught the ball and motored up the field until he was finally dragged down at the USC 27. THAT was the turning point of the game.

As if he still had something to prove, Charlie again showed why he's earned his stripes by digging us out of that tremendous hole and lighting a fire under our offense. USC defenders could only shake their heads and wonder how they let a certain stop slip through their fingers. By all counts, that should have been it. But we had new life.

From there, Whitehurst handed the reins to James Davis, who rumbled 23 yards to the USC 4-yard-line. From there, it took only two plays for Davis to plunge it into the endzone for a Tiger touchdown, the only touchdown scored between both ball clubs this night. Jad Dean's kick was good, and the Tigers took their first lead, 13-9.

To say that Williams-Brice sounded like Ghost Town, U.S.A. at that point would be a vast understatement.

The fireworks weren't over yet. USC came back on offense with a chance to drive the length of the field and get back on top. On third down at their own 15, C.J. Gaddis intercepted Blake Mitchell's long pass and ran it back the opposite way. However, before Tiger fans could celebrate, USC's Sidney Rice, enraged at being denied his catch, lunged at Gaddis from behind and stripped the ball out of his grasp. Rice recovered the fumble and USC regained possession. What had been a potential game-clincher right there turned into a 24-yard pickup for the Gamecocks. Tiger fans everywhere gnashed their teeth in dispair. I felt nearly catatonic. I wanted to vault over the stands, run onto the field and throttle C.J. "YOU HAD THE PICK! IT WAS OVER! ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS FALL DOWN! WHY DIDN'T YOU GET DOWN? ARRRGGHH!!" Ooooh yes, we were angry.

BUT - never say die. Not with these Tigers.

Yet again, back came the defense to bail us out. This one was for all the marbles. USC had a first down right at midfield with their sights set on the endzone. Only 5:38 left in the game. Mike Davis and Daccus Turman rushed for 7 yards to bring the Cocks to our 43-yard line. On 3rd down and 3, our defensive linemen rushed ahead and wrapped up Davis for a 3-yard loss. Okay. 4th-down. 3 minutes to go. Do we have one more huge stop in us?

Heck yes! Charles Bennett picked off Mitchell's last pass and brought it back to our 49. I remember bounding into the air screaming "GET DOWN! GET DOWN! GET DOWN!" while squeezing Anna Kate. And he did.

With only 2:26 to go, the Tiger offense had only to run out the clock to preserve the victory. Two running plays netted us exactly 0 yards. And we all thought, "Oh no. Will they...?" But then, as if we needed to be reminded of who was in control, it was none other than Charlie Whitehurst who took the ball on 3rd down and dashed up the middle on a QB draw that gave us 10 yards for the clutch first down that iced the game. Seeing him emerge from the USC pile waving his triumphant finger in the air was a sight to behold. A resounding cheer went out from our section, "CHAR-LIE! CHAR-LIE! CHAR-LIE!" Once again, our embattled QB had proved his critics wrong.

And that's how this game ended. A 13-9 triumph by the Tigers over the Gamecocks. Our fourth consecutive win and eighth in our last nine contests. We'll be expecting a rent payment after this. Since we own WBS, you know.



Welcome to the rivalry, Mr. Spurrier. I dare you to say it's "just another game" next year.

Because we'll be more than happy to make you learn the hard way again. Long as it takes.