Hands in the Air!

Hands down (or should I say up?), the single best moment in Death Valley this season. I'll get to that in a little bit.

Clemson vs. Florida State
Bowden Bowl VII

I'm among the growing majority of fans who feel that the mystique has long since departed the seven-year-old matchup between Papa Bobby and Son Tommy. It's no longer about the young upstart matching wits with the battle-worn veteran. It's about the teams and which one can beat the pants off of the other. Just as it should be.

Going to a noon kickoff is a rarity by itself. Combine that with the opportunity to tailgate, and you have a once-in a-lifetime game experience. I got to come home from Furman and go with my family, so I was extremely pleased to do that. Susannah and Baxter brought their friends also, and Anna Kate sat with us right on the 50-yard-line. The sky was crystal blue, and there was a crisp chill in the air (although it warmed up once we got to the Valley). It was a perfect setup for college football. It really pays to take note of the little things in a game-day experience.

Today was Senior Day for the Tigers, and we started a new tradition for the occasion. The PA announcer called out the names of our graduating seniors as they ran individually down the Hill. I'd be touched by the sentiment if I was one of them, but I can't help but feel a kind of longing to run down the Hill one last time with my teammates. Oh well; they looked like they enjoyed it regardless, so I won't claim to speak for them. It was a nice gesture.

The opening quarter showcased a Tiger team ready for battle. We took the opening kickoff and rolled 72 yards down the field, drawing first blood with a 22-yard TD strike from Charlie Whitehurst to Chansi Stuckey. Florida State was forced to punt on their first series, and our offense went right back to work. Charlie tossed a screen to Stuckey, who dashed 36 yards into the FSU redzone. From there, James Davis, playing with a soft cast on his wrist, punched it in from the 1-yard-line. With 5:17 to play in the first quarter, Clemson pounced on the favored Seminoles 14-0. By the end of the quarter, the Tigers had piled up 231 yards of total offense. In fifteen minutes.

In our initial second quarter series, FSU stopped us at their 40, and Jad Dean missed a 56-yard field goal try. It proved to be a momentum changer as the Seminoles turned the tables on us in that quarter. Florida State tied the score and shut down our offense by sacking Whitehurst three times and forcing an interception. Tiger fans were nervous as cats with a 14-14 tie going into halftime. I heard rumblings about benching Whitehurst, benching our punter Cole Chason (we averaged punts in the mid-20s and had a punt blocked that FSU picked up for a TD in the endzone), and the like. I prayed we would keep the faith and get things untracked for the second half of play.

But it looked like FSU was ready to take full control of the game as the third quarter began. With a couple timely throws down the field, we seemed incapable of stopping them. Then freshman Michael Hamlin made a highlight-reel-worthy interception of FSU QB Drew Weatherford. It sent a jolt of electricity through the crowd, and that seemed to reenergize our offense. Five plays later, Whitehurst again found Stuckey on a screen pass that he ran for a 32-yard-TD reception to put the Tigers back on top 21-14. Our defense clamped down on Florida State in their next possession, forcing the punt, and back came the offense. To my sheer delight, we kept the pressure on them, daring them to stop us as we gambled with big plays and went for the ever-elusive knockout punch in the contest. James Davis eventually scored on an 8-yard TD run, his second of the day, for a 28-14 Tiger lead.

And we weren't finished yet. C.J. Gaddis picked off Weatherford's pass on FSU's first play of their possession, and we were back in business. Facing third and goal on their 4-yard-line, Whitehurst opted for a long ball to the endzone, where it was caught by Aaron Kelly, one of our fast-emerging go-to-receivers. However, the officials initially ruled that Kelly was out of bounds when he made the catch. We caught the replay on PawVision, and it clearly showed Kelly's shoulder coming down in-bounds with the ball in his hands. The stadium went CRAZY! Tommy Bowden quickly called a time-out to get the officials to take another look at the play (if we'd snapped the ball, it would've been too late), and sure enough, with Tiger Fans shaking Death Valley with their yelling and screaming, the officials signaled for an instant replay. After five minutes, they came back on the field. But Tiger fans didn't need to hear the verdict. We knew just what happened. In what is now an all-time favorite moment of mine in all my games attended, all 80,000+ fans stood up with their hands held high, signaling for the touchdown.

WOW.

I can't describe the feeling right at that moment. Just tremendous.

Let's just say if the referee hadn't given us the TD, he would've felt the wrath of the entire Clemson community on his head. But fortunately, he did. And so the final score of Bowden Bowl VII: Clemson 35, Florida State 14.

Song of the Day: Mark Schultz - "Letters From War"

Verse of the Day: "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm." - Psalm 20:7-8