Memories

During my short life I've been blessed to attend many games played by my beloved Clemson Tigers. I've laughed, cried, had countless near hear attacks, and cheered until I lost all of my voice for the Orange and White. I wouldn't change a thing and I'm proud to say I'm a part of the Tiger Nation! Today I will relive my Top Ten Clemson football victories of games that I attended.

#10. 2002- Clemson vs Georgia Tech 24-19



One of my very first Clemson games so this one will always stick in my memory. Known to some as the battle of I-85. These cross division rivals from the ACC seem to go toe-to-toe nearly every meeting. It was a rainy afternoon that Saturday when the Tigers got out to a 24-6 lead early in the 2nd half. The yellow-jackets rallied though and made it a nail bitter. The rally party came to a crashing halt however when Eric Sampson intercepted a A.J. Suggs pass at the Clemson 16 yard line to secure the victory for the Tigers late in the game. Derrick Hamilton had a big day for the Tigers that included a 79 yard punt return which set up a Clemson touchdown.



#9. 2009- (#23) Clemson vs Virginia 34-21

The home finale for the 2009 season that, with a win, would clinch the Atlantic Division title and a trip to the ACC Championship to face Georgia Tech. The game gave them the outright bid after officially clinching the title just before kickoff as Boston College fell to North Carolina 31-13 earlier that day. The game was kept close by Virginia in the 1st half but C.J. Spiller and the Tigers simply would not be denied that afternoon with hopes of winning their first ACC Championship since 1991 hanging on the balance.



#8. 2011- (#7) Clemson VS North Carolina 58-38


Another great home performance in Death Valley during the 2011 season on a day where Clemson celebrated its 1981 Championship Reunion. Maybe that was what gave Clemson the extra motivation in this game in which they trailed early in the game. In what turned into a shootout, Clemson proved it was too much for the Tar Heels with an explosive 3rd quarter that sealed the fate for UNC. Boyd was on the money, passing for 367 yards and 5 touchdowns, all of which were to separate receivers. The defense, led by two scores from Kourtnei Brown came up big when it mattered most forcing 6 turnovers on the day. Quite an exciting game to watch that kept fans on the edge of their seats for most of the game.



#7 2009- Clemson vs Florida State 40-24 

For a young Clemson fan like me, this one was really special. Growing up I was always used to FSU sticking it to us year after year. These days the tide has turned completely and on this night, it was all Clemson. The valley was rocking all night long and C.J. Spiller put on a show and once again proved he deserved to be in the Heisman discussion. Down 24-21 in the 4th, a fire was set under Clemson and they exploded. On the night, Spiller rushed for 165 yards. When Spiller started to run out of gas, in came Andre Ellington into the game with fresh legs and kept the accelerator pushed down and ran right at the Noles defense. In a memory that is one of my all time favorites across the board, the stadium sang "We Will Rock You" moments before a Deandre McDaniel Interception return that ended with FSU QB Christian Ponder getting rocked and put on his back trying to save the pick-6 inside the 5 yard line. Clemson would score one last time and Ponder, shaken up from the hit, did not return to the field for FSU's last possession of the game.


#6 2005- Clemson vs (#17) Texas A&M 25-24

The final game of a home-in-home series against the Aggies that featured the #17 ranked crew from Texas A&M playing in Death Valley. The Tigers were hungry for revenge after falling to the Aggies in the first meeting. Jad Dean was the man of the night proving true for 6 field goals during the game, the biggest a game winning 42 yard field goal that passed through the goal post with two seconds remaining. Dean had predicted to his friends earlier in the week he would kick the game winning field goal and he was correct. The kicker was 6-6 on the night with kicks of 18, 21, 21, 25, and 45. (along with the 42 yard GW) It was even more special because the final drive was led by back-up QB Will Proctor because Whitehurst had suffered a mild concussion in the previous series. One of the key plays of he night was a 47 yard punt return by Chansi Stuckey, who leaped over punter Justin Brantly on his way into the end zone.



#5 2008- Clemson vs South Carolina 31-14

This game was a measure of true Clemson and Carolina fans. It was a cold and rainy Saturday in Death Valley that ended with jubilation for Clemson fans as they defeated the Gamecocks 31-14 to extend their recent domination (at the time) over their arch-rivals. The game was highlighted by a trick play created earlier in the week called "cock-a-doodle-doo". The play composed of Ford walking towards the sideline and kneeling as if he was tying his shoe but lingering around the sideline. After losing the attention and focus of the defenders, he streaked down field wide open turned around and caught a 50-yard pass from Harper as he was inches away from being sacked. The crowd erupted and you could sense it was going to be that kind of day for the Gamecocks. After the game fans chanted, "DABO.......DABO" as his players carried him off the field, it was pretty clear that the new era of Clemson football was set to begin and Coach Swinney was gonna be taking the reins.






#4 2011- (#21)Clemson vs (#11) Florida State 35-30

The second of three Clemson/FSU showdowns that made my top 10 ten list. This one was an early season match-up that had heavy ACC Championship implications. After falling behind early, Clemson pulled it together and freshmen Sammy Watkins proved his performance against Auburn the previous week, was no fluke.  He had 7 catches for 141 yards and 2 TDs. It was the first time I had seen him in live action and I can say without a doubt he was the best true freshmen I had ever seen play. He had a 6th sense for the football and end zone and was on another level. Tajh Boyd threw for 344 yards and 3 TDs en route to a 35-30 victory. This game really opened the nation's eyes to Clemson and its new offense and gave opposing defensive coordinators nightmares on how they were going to stop this explosive offense with so many dangerous weapons in its arsenal.




#3 2006-(#12) Clemson vs (#13) Georgia Tech 31-7

My most favorite Clemson game in Death Valley. Woke up at 5am to go get a good spot for College Gameday out on Bowman Field. It was homecoming so the floats and sea of orange made for quite the scenery. Clemson fans showed up in a great numbers, packing the field for the show and broke the record for loudest college gameday crowd. It would be good practice/warm-up and  a preview for the nights showdown. Making a quick costume change after warm-ups, Clemson appeared at the top of the hill wearing All Purple after sporting Orange tops when leaving the field before pre-game. The Valley was as loud as ever and rocking all night long. I couldn't hear my own voice when trying to talk to friends around me during the game. It. Was. IN-SANE!!!!! It was a beautiful fall night, but Thunder and Lighting struck Death Valley and numerous times in the form of the dynamic duo James Davis and C.J. Spiller. With all eyes on the prime time College game day feature, Clemson put on quite a show dominating the yellow jackets in every aspect of the game. The game was highlighted by a play I will never forget. Spiller caught a bubble screen pass at the 50 yard line near the FSU sideline. He made the first guy (a senior) miss with a quick juke to the left, two more steps then another juke to the right sent the second defender (also a senior) flying and from there, it was off to the races as he sprinted down the sideline untouched for the score. It sent the fans in Orange into a whirlwind. One of the greatest plays I've ever seen in person. The defense also was stellar holding tech to 7 points and keeping Calvin Johnson catch-less for the entire game, something that seemed impossible. 

#2 2006- Clemson @ (#9) Florida State 27-20

Arguably one of the best of the "Bowden Bowls". (as they were called when Tommy's Tigers faced his father, Bobby's Seminoles.) One this night I distinctly remember hearing chants of "Who's Your Daddy??" as Clemson had knocked off FSU at home for the first time since 1989 and the 3rd time out of the last four overall. In a back and forth game that saw two Clemson kicks blocked and returned for scores by Tony Carter, FSU was lucky to even be in the game in the second half. After FSU tied the game at 20-20 with just over 10 min left, Clemson fans began to fear the worst. But luck would be in the Tigers favor this warm September night. Late in the game with Clemson trying to put together a game winning drive, the Tiger offense noticed some confusion on the FSU side of the ball. None of the linemen were set and the linebackers looked lost. Ready for the snap, Proctor called for a quick count and dished the ball to Davis who busted through the gaping holes in the Seminoles defense and was finally tackled 47 yards later inside the 5 yard line. Three plays and a FSU off-sides penalty later, Clemson had taken the lead and silenced the stunned FSU faithful. C-L-E-M-S-O....-N echoed through Doak Campbell and the fans in Orange had themselves a party for the final 8 seconds of regulation. As my first road game, I will definitely never forget this night. I went to the game with my good friend Alex Moore and his family and we did Clemson chats and  celebrated with other fans all the way back to the car and up the interstate back home. A wonderful experience I will never forget!




#1- 2011 ACC CHAMPIONSHIP
(#15) Clemson vs (#11) Virginia Tech 38-10    




For anyone who has followed Clemson football in the past twenty or so years, this one should come as no surprise. I purchased these tickets as soon as I got home from the win over North Carolina mid-season. That decision almost came back to haunt me when Wake Forest came to town and I had to check updates via my phone at work all day to see if my Tigers would be playing for their first ACC crown in 20 years. Luckily, we pulled through. We had defeated the Hokies 23-3 during the regular season in Blacksburg, but a lot had changed since then. (or so we thought) Clemson had struggled towards the end of the season and we were sure to get Virgina Tech's best shot and their chance at revenge in the ACC Championship. However, it wasn't meant to be. As kickoff drew closer a mild cautious optimism filled the air. The game atmosphere was amazing for both sides, though it would begin leaning in Clemson's favor quickly. On the first play from scrimmage, the Hokies turned the ball over via a fumble and Clemson capitalized on the opportunity with a 24 yard TD pass from Boyd to Dwayne Allen to take the 7-0 lead. The Hokies would respond however with a strike of their own to D. J. Coles for a 45 yard score tying the game 7-7 at the end of the 1st quarter. That would be just about the only excitement for Tech on the night, though. After matching Clemson's FG in the 2nd, the Hokies were unable to score another point the rest of the way. A 3-touchdown 3rd quarter put the game away and sent Clemson fans into pandemonium as we could sense it was our night and we were on our way to Miami for the Orange Bowl. In the 3rd stanza, Dwayne Allen hauled in another TD catch, this one from 8 yards out. Sammy Watkins continued to impress blowing pass the Hokie secondary untagged for his 53 yard TD and  Ellington capped off the quarter with a 29 yard score to put the nail in the coffin for Virginia Tech. A 1 yard rush from Boyd in the 4th would be the cherry on top of a great night for Clemson. As time expired in Bank of America Stadium, Clemson fans went nuts. For the last five minutes of the game, there were numerous stoppages in play as Oranges that had been thrown onto the field had to be removed. There are no words to describe how great that night was and how happy I am that I was able to experience it first hand.

People give Coach Swinney hell about his coaching style and how he does his job. But the bottom line is he loves Clemson. He gives 100%, is one of the best recruiters in the nation and has won two divisional titles and one conference title in his short tenure as head coach of the Tigers. I'm happy to have him as a coach and thrilled about the direction the program is headed. Here's to another Championship next season and many more to come along with a few BCS bowl victories! GO TIGERS!