The Clemson Tiger football team has had a tremendous run of success over the past 12 seasons racking up at least 10 wins in each season. It is extremely fun to look over the past and see some of the games that changed the trajectory of the program.
In this multi-part series, I will go through my time as a Clemson student/fan (1995-Present) to talk about the games that changed not only the program as a whole but had a direct impact in doing so.
Please remember that while some of the games may be obvious, this is an opinion piece and one person’s opinion at that. Interaction, critique, and the like are all welcomed.
Also, in some of these off-season list-type articles, there is a countdown. I plan on going chronologically from my time building to, ultimately, the present day.
1/3/2004 – Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, Atlanta, Georgia – Clemson 27- Tennessee 14
During my tenure as a Clemson student it felt like the Peach Bowl was the “prize” at the end of every season. The 1996, 1997 and 1998 seasons all ended with losses to SEC foes in Atlanta (LSU, Auburn and Mississippi State respectively).
So when 2003 rolled around and Clemson was selected to the Peach Bowl against the #7 team in the nation, the Tennessee Volunteers, to me it felt like the bugaboo was going to continue in the Georgia Dome.
Legendary Head Coach Phil Fulmer was leading his Vols into Atlanta at 10-2 with the only losses coming by way of the Auburn Tigers and #8 Georgia Bulldogs in consecutive weeks; weeks 5 and 6. They bounced back with a victory over Alabama, righting the ship for the remainder of the regular season and winning the remaining 6 games, including a win on the road against the highly-ranked University of Miami.
Tennessee was led at quarterback by Casey Clausen. The California kid threw for nearly 3,000 (top 25 in the country) yards during his senior campaign while throwing 27 touchdowns (14th in the country) to only 6 interceptions. It was going to be a tall task for the Tigers to beat the Vols on that night.
Charlie Whitehurst and company were more than up to the task. In the first drive of the game, Whitehurst found dynamic wide receiver Derrick Hamilton across the middle for a huge gain to set the tone of the night. A few plays later, running back Duane Coleman took a pitch from Whitehurst on the short side of the field and followed his blockers, and hurdled into the endzone for a quick touchdown and a (surprising) Clemson lead. It was a well-called drive by Offensive Coordinator Brad Scott.
Later in the first quarter after a Tennessee fumble by running back Cedric Houston and a few defensive stands by both teams, Tennessee was forced to punt to Hamilton. The unsung hero of the 2003 team took the punt to the right where he was almost immediately hemmed up, but he switched the field and found a seem and took off up the field only to be forced out inside the Tennessee 20-yard line. The Tigers would add a field goal for a first-quarter 10-0 lead over the top 10 Vols.
Tennessee followed the Clemson scoring drive with one of their own as Claussen found wide receiver Chris Hannon for 19 yards out on a perfectly drawn-up screen right into the teeth of where Clemson was sending the blitz from, thus ending the first quarter 10-7 in Clemson’s favor.
Clemson answered immediately after the start of the 2nd quarter with a 19-yard touchdown of their own with a scamper right up the middle by Chad Jasmin to push that Clemson lead back up to 10 points. Jasmin would finish with 130 yards rushing and the Peach Bowl MVP.
With 8:20 left in the half, Tennessee answered the long Clemson score with one of their own, a beautifully thrown fly route caught by wide-receiver Mark Jones for 31 yards. Clemson led 17-14.
With 5:42 left in the first half after a great pass by Whitehurst to Hamilton, Clemson lined up in a funky formation. Whitehurst took the snap and immediately spun to the right almost looking like an option type of play except running back Kyle Browning had the ball and ran to the left and in for the 7-yard touchdown run extending the lead again, to 10 points.
The second half was a defensive battle by both teams. Claussen was pressured all night by the entirety of the Tiger’s defense.
Aaron Hunt added another field goal with 1:57 remaining in the game and that was where the game would finish. Clemson 27 – Tennessee 14.
2003 was my 9th year of fandom of my beloved Tigers. I can honestly say that this was the first time that I thought that Clemson could compete with the “big boys.” I was in attendance for the game and it truly felt like Head Coach Tommy Bowden had turned the corner in his coaching tenure.
Across the following 19 seasons there were many more games that Clemson not only competed with, but beat those bigger named programs. That January night in Atlanta, not only did Clemson beat Tennessee, a team that had won a recent National Championship, but also won in a place that I did not think was possible in the infancy of my fandom.
