The final part of our look back at 10 of the most crazy, exciting, and impactful games played at Death Valley in the last 20 years…
Every so often, a team will find themselves locked in a game of such magnitude, that is so compelling, that it transcends the moment and connects generations of fans both young and old. The outcome so impactful that it can chart the course of destiny for a program for many years to come. A game that is still talked about, and will forever be talked about, by those who were there to see it.
The Clemson football team played just such a game on October 1st, 2016. It was a top-5 match-up at Death Valley, headlined by the two best quarterbacks in college football, and a contest that most analysts prophesied had national championship implications. College Day Day, ESPN, and everyone of importance were there to see #5 Clemson host #3 Louisville. It was DeShaun Watson versus Lamar Jackson. It was two heavyweights battling to the death. And when the clock finally hit zero, the 83,000 fans in attendance walked away having witnessed the greatest game played in Death Valley in decades, and arguably of all-time.
The hype is real…
The build-up to this clash of Titans was something not often seen in college football. Both quarterbacks were considered by many to be the top two Heisman Trophy contenders in 2016. Both rosters were chock full of elite playmakers, both defenses had been stonewalling opponents, and the respective offenses were putting up video game numbers. Still, Louisville came into Memorial Stadium ranked two spots higher than Clemson. Both teams were undefeated, both were supremely confident, and as the days and hours counted down to kick-off, there was a feeling in the air that something special was about to happen. Nobody at the time could have foreseen what would take place once the game got underway.
Yes, it gets loud in Death Valley…
The Cardinals received the opening kick-off. As Jackson and his offense prepared to face down the Tigers, they first had to contend with the crowd. Prior to the first offensive snap, a decibel counter being displayed on the scoreboard hit an ear-shattering 127, almost as loud as a jet engine from point blank range. Louisville mistimed their cadence and jumped offsides. Again, the crowd roared. This time the meter hit almost 129 decibels. The Cardinals jumped early a second time. Before Louisville could run a single play it was 1st and 20. The Tiger faithful had delivered the shock, but the awe was yet to come.
Stalemate…
The first quarter ended up being what nobody had expected. Neither team would score a point in the first 15 minutes. Perhaps both sides were getting a feel for one another. Either way, the Tigers’ and Cardinals’ defenses held firm and forced multiple empty possessions. Like two heavyweight boxers, the teams used that opening round to gauge their opponents’ weaknesses and get a sense of where to attack them. Anxiously, the throngs of fans waited, and roared, for the first punch to be delivered. Louisville would be the first one to connect.
Take the punch…
On the final play of the first quarter, Jackson lofted a pass high over the middle that was reeled in at the Clemson two-yard line. Three plays later, less than a minute into the second quarter, running back Jeremy Smith punched in the first score of the ballgame to give the Cardinals a 7-0 lead. Staggered, but not down, Clemson waited for an opportunity to respond. Watson guided the Tigers inside the red zone on the ensuing drive, but the Clemson signal caller was intercepted in the endzone by Zaire Alexander to end the threat. Incredibly, Louisville would fumble it right back a few plays later, and this time, Watson and the Tigers would cash it in. On the very next play after the fumble recovery, Watson fired a missile down the left sideline to a streaking Deon Cain. The embattled Clemson receiver hauled in the equalizing score with 7:48 to play in the first half.
Open the flood gates…
The Tigers smelled blood, and over the next seven minutes Watson and company would unleash a deluge of offense against Louisville that the Cardinals seemed powerless to stop. Another Louisville turnover, their third in as many possessions, was redeemed by tailback Wayne Gallman’s 24-yard touchdown run to give Clemson their first lead with just over six minutes to play in the first half. Following another defensive stop, Watson found Cain again on the same route down the left side, this time for a 37-yard sliding touchdown grab. Louisville was able to muster a field goal with under two minutes to play in the half, but that gave Watson plenty of time to fire one more salvo before halftime. On first and goal from the five, Watson hit Artavis Scott right across the middle with his third touchdown pass of the night with five seconds on the clock. Clemson was on top 28-10 at the half, and Louisville was stunned.
Oh, how the tables have turned…
Louisville was down, but far from out. The Cardinals were a top five ranked team for a reason and they were about to prove it. As dominant as the Tigers had been in the fist half, those tables would be turned in the third quarter. Between the third period and into the fourth, Louisville would score 26 unanswered points. Two Clemson turnovers doomed a couple of scoring chances, and Jackson made the Tigers pay dearly. Two third quarter touchdowns, an eight-yard pass to James Quick and a one-yard Jackson run, were scored around another field goal. As the game entered the final period, Clemson was left clinging precariously to a 28-26 lead. The onslaught continued into the fourth, with Jackson and the Cardinals taking the lead, and then extending it, on a field goal and 11-yard touchdown run from Jackson which was his second of the game. With 7:52 to play, Clemson trailed 36-28. The Tigers were reeling in front of a stunned Death Valley crowd which had grown deathly silent. But with their backs to the wall, Watson would rally his troops for one final, frenetic, and decisive comeback.
Not in our house…
It took Clemson less than 50 seconds to respond. Scott returned the kick-off right up the middle and all the way to the Louisville 23-yard line. Two plays later, from the 20, Watson fired a bullet across the middle to the monstrous Mike Williams who grabbed the pass at the five and carried a Louisville defender the rest of the way into the end-zone. The two-point conversion failed, leaving the Cardinals with a 36-34 lead, but that would not last much longer. The Tigers earned a defensive stop, then took over again with just over four minutes to play. Watson converted a huge third and five from the Clemson 45 on a 24-yard strike to Cain which got the Tigers into the fringe of Greg Huegel’s field goal range. On the very next play, Louisville failed to complete a defensive substitution on time, with a flag flying right as the ball was snapped. On what would have been a free play for Clemson, Watson dumped off a short pass to tight end Jordan Leggett who weaved his way through a bevy of Cardinal defenders to the endzone. That 31-yard touchdown, and the successful two-point conversion that followed, gave Clemson a 42-36 lead with 3:14 left to play. All the Tigers had to do now was hold on.
Quick thinking…
Jackson and Louisville were not simply going to go quietly into the now-raucous Clemson night. The Cardinals’ electric quarterback guided Louisville into Tiger territory yet again with under two minutes to play, and with 40 seconds left in the game, completed a pass to Reggie Bonnafon to set up first and 10 from the Clemson 12-yard line. The Tigers were in trouble, and turned to their defense to get the biggest stop of their lives. The next three plays netted Louisville just three yards, and prior to the snap on fourth and seven, a lineman jumped again as the frenzied contingent of Clemson fans rained down a deafening cacophony of noise. It would all come down to one play, 4th and 12, from the Clemson 12-yard line. Jackson took the snap, looked left, and fired a pass to James Quick in the flat. As Quick turned up field toward the first down marker, Clemson cornerback Marcus Edmond closed in. Edmond met quick at the six, went low into the receivers’ legs, and angled him out of bounds at the four-yard line, two yards short of a first down. One victory snap to Watson later, and it was over. Clemson survived, and with it, their dreams of a national championship.
Full circle…
The celebration lasted well into the night. Traffic backed up for miles out of Clemson, but nobody cared. Fans celebrated out of their windows, reveling in the joy that followed one of the biggest wins in Clemson football history. That night was only the beginning of the remarkable run to follow. The Tigers finished the regular season 11-1, again winning the ACC championship, and would draw Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl play-off semifinal game. Clemson blanked the Buckeyes 31-0, and once again had the chance to face down the Alabama Crimson Tide for the national championship. For a team that thrived going down to the wire, the final game of the incredible 2016 season would be no different. Watson, of course, would find Hunter Renfrow in the front corner of the endzone with one second to play to win the championship. Clemson’s first since 1981. The Tigers would celebrate the ultimate prize on the top of the mountain they had worked so hard, and so long, to reach. That crazy game against Louisville in October had just prepared them for the moment, and showed them how to finish. In hindsight, Clemson probably would not have been in the play-offs if they had not beaten Louisville. They probably would have not even played for the ACC championship. October 1st, 2015 is a night no Clemson football fan will ever forget, and for three hours, the Tigers played, and won, the greatest game Death Valley had witnessed in decades.
The moment was theirs, and ultimately, so was the highest crown of college football.
