Perhaps one of the most memorable plays in Clemson’s history happened on December 31st, 2012 that helped begin a dynasty. A play that catapulted the Tigers to contend at the top of the college football world for years to come. The game had plenty of positive takeaways, like cementing Dabo Swinney as the next legendary head coach in Death Valley, and DeAndre Hopkins dominating once again in an incredible season. Clemson fans remember this game as the moment in time that put Clemson football on the map. The Peach Bowl was one of the best bowl games in the 2010s, completed by an epic comeback by the Tigers.
2012 Clemson vs. LSU 4th and 16
How did we get here?
The 2012-2013 Clemson Tigers were looking to bounce back from an up-and-down season the year before, where they finished 10-4 with an ACC championship win over Virginia Tech. The team ended on a historic blowout falling to West Virginia 70-33 in the Orange Bowl. The following fall of 2012 made way for the beginning of Dabo Swinney’s fourth full year as the Tigers’ head coach, hoping to continue to take the team in a positive direction.
Clemson had plenty of tools to help them succeed once again and try to remain at the top of the ACC. Swinney was returning star offensive players; quarterback Tahj Boyd, running back Andre Ellington and receiver trio of DeAndre Hopkins, Sammy Watkins and Martavis Bryant.
The Tigers opened up as the ranked #14 in the country and defeated the Auburn Tigers at the Georgia Dome to open the season; a come-from-behind victory. With two more wins against Ball State and Furman at home, Clemson was the now #10 in the country and was traveling to Tallahassee to face the No. 4 Florida State Seminoles. Despite a 7-point lead at halftime, Seminoles quarterback E.J. Manuel took over, getting it done on the ground and through the air to dominate the second half and take a 12-point victory over the Tigers to give them their first loss of the season.
Clemson bounced back strong, pulling four huge conference wins against Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, and Duke to sit at 7-1 through 8 weeks. With a win against Maryland right after, the Tigers were hosting rival NC State in a vital game to stay in contention for the ACC championship. Despite going down in the first quarter, the team exploded in the second quarter, pouring in 28 points to win a 62-48 shootout. Tahj Boyd took over the game for the Tigers, amassing 521 total yards and eight combined touchdowns to beat the ‘Pack.
In the team’s final regular season game of the season, they would be paired up in the annual in-state rivalry game against the #13 South Carolina Gamecocks, headlined by future number 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, Jadaveon Clowney. The Tigers were trying to avoid their fourth straight loss to their rival and started off with two early first-quarter touchdowns to have a 14-7 lead. They would only score three points the rest of the game, as the Gamecocks took over in the second half and won by ten points at Memorial Stadium; their fourth straight against Swinney’s squad.
With a 10-2 regular season record, it scored the Tigers a Chick-Fil-A Bowl berth on New Year’s Eve, meeting another Tiger team in LSU. LSU was the #9 team in the country, with only losses to #10 Florida and #1 Alabama. The “Tiger Bowl” was going to be an exciting one with two talented squads facing off in Atlanta.
Early struggles
On the first drive of the game, Sammy Watkins was stripped of the ball on a rushing attempt, giving LSU great field position, that was capitalized on by running back Jeremy Hill for the first score of the game. Clemson responded a drive later, with an 11-play drive capped off with a Tahj Boyd 11-yard rushing touchdown to make the score even at 7.
Defensive stops were made by both teams until the beginning of the second quarter when LSU head coach Les Miles and his team broke through. Quarterback Zach Mettenberger found receiver Jarvis Landry for a six-yard score. Clemson was able to respond before the end of the half, and it was only the beginning of one of DeAndre Hopkins’ best games in the orange and white. Early in the drive, Boyd found the young star on the left side of the field, and he made the grab to for a 31-yard play. At the end of the drive, Boyd went back to his guy, finding Hopkins again to cap off the drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass. Clemson kicker Chandler Catanzaro’s PAT was blocked, leaving it a 14-13 game going into the half.
At the beginning of the second half, LSU caught their opponent sleeping, and Jeremy Hill capitalized, breaking free and scoring a touchdown off of a 57-yard touchdown run to make it an eight-point game, 21-13. Clemson continued to struggle, seemingly unable to move the chains and would have turnovers, with Andre Ellington fumbling the ball to give LSU great field position to score a field goal. At the end of the third quarter, it was 24-13, LSU. The Clemson Tigers were going to need a huge fourth quarter to get over the hump and take down their Tiger counterpart.
A Fourth Quarter to Remember
The Tigers were able to start the quarter on the right foot with another high-quality drive. Boyd led the team down the field, most notably hitting Hopkins again for a 21-yard gain to get into the opponent’s territory. Clemson was able to reach the goal-to-go area, but they settled for a field goal, making it an eight-point game once again, 24-16.
It was the defense who came up clutch to get the offense back on the field, sacking Mettenberger on 3rd and medium to get the Tigers the ball back with plenty of time to try to tie the game up. Boyd and the offense strung together another promising drive, moving the chains consistently and wearing the defense down. Boyd was able to complete a 20-yard pass to tight end Brandon Ford to get to the LSU 14-yard line. Two plays later, it was Hopkins who had his moment again, as Tahj Boyd tossed a perfect pass in the end zone to find Hopkins, and the Clemson Tigers were two points away from tying the game.
A play later, and with a chance to tie the game, Boyd took the snap. He rolled right, but the LSU defense had plenty of guys chasing Boyd in the backfield, and he was not able to complete the rollout pass. The Tigers had 2:47 left in the game to make a defensive stop, as well as score at least a field goal to win the bowl game.
But the Clemson defense, once again, was able to stop LSU to give Boyd and the offense one last shot to win the game, forcing two incompletions on 2nd and 2 and 3rd and 2 to force an improbable fourth down to give Clemson the ball back with 1:39 to go.
On a potential game-winning drive, Boyd fired two passes toward Hopkins, but both were unable to gain yards. A play later, Boyd would be sacked, and the Tigers would be faced with a very difficult 4th and 16 on their own 14-yard line. Then, the next play would change the course of Clemson football forever.
Boyd took the snap and was immediately pressured by the incoming LSU front seven. Most people knew who the signal-caller was looking for, and Boyd made a quick throw to his standout receiver Hopkins. The pass was slightly underthrown, but the star, with a defender blocking his view of the ball, got his hands under it for a 26-yard play. First down, Clemson.
Two plays later, Hopkins was targeted by Boyd again. This time, LSU safety Eric Reid got in his way, grabbing the receiver to limit his chances of getting the ball. Pass interference, another fifteen yards for the Tigers, who still had two timeouts and 47 seconds to go. After that, with a three-yard gain off of a curl route, Hopkins got the ball again, with Boyd making a perfect pass for his go-to receiver to make a toe-touching sideline catch to give the Tigers 26 yards to go.
After chewing the clock down to two seconds, Catanzaro had his moment to capitalize on the blocked attempt earlier, and he drilled this attempt. Game over. Clemson wins by one point and send the Georgia Dome into an orange-and-white frenzy.
It was the most wins in a season since their first national championship in 1981. It boosted the football program, which showed, on a national level, that they could win against SEC opponents. It established the Clemson legacy of players like Tahj Boyd and DeAndre Hopkins. It was arguably the turning point of Clemson football. Without the performance of that Chick-Fil-A Bowl, who knows where Clemson football would be today?
