ALMOST Misery
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CHAPEL THRILL -- Dabo Swinney had to take a long walk out of Kenan Memorial Stadium in 2010 after his Tigers fell 21-16.
The Clemson head coach knew then his program still had a long way to go if it was going to be successful long-term. He recalled the evening as nothing short of a miserable night when the loss was brought up earlier this week.
Well, nine years later, much of the Clemson faithful felt nothing but misery for about 59 minutes of game action as the first-ranked Tigers found themselves fighting for their lives. And It took stopping a two-point conversion with 1:17 left in the game for fans wearing orange to finally take a breath.
A deep sigh of relief.
It wasn’t as long of a walk for Swinney this time as he approached his mentor and friend Mack Brown after Clemson’s nail-biting 21-20 victory in Chapel Hill. But there were still similar concerns from the head man - just like Swinney had all those years ago.
The message to Brown, and the rest of the country, was simple but spoke volumes:
“I thought they out-played us and out-coached us,” Swinney said. “We couldn't get out of our own way for a lot of the night.”
You won’t hear any arguments on this side. A Clemson offense that is now through five games still seemed out of sorts, sloppy, and couldn’t get into any kind of rhythm. The 331 total yards gained were a season-low for the Tigers after averaging over 524 yards in their first four contests.
Clemson also had a season-low 14 first downs after averaging 26.5 per game on the year. A total of four three-and-outs and a two-play drive that ended in a Travis Etienne fumble in Clemson’s own territory gave the Tar Heels plenty of opportunities.
The Tigers were out-rushed by North Carolina 146 yards to 125 in what was an underwhelming performance by Clemson’s backfield. Swinney said after the game that North Carolina was forcing Clemson to run the football, but Etienne, who got 14 carries for 67 yards and a score, was just too inefficient.
As for the passing game, Trevor Lawrence made some pretty gritty throws while completing 18 of his 30 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown. We finally got to see what Lawrence could do in the fourth quarter as he led Clemson on a go-ahead touchdown drive on the only possession it would get in the period.
But there were also throws that were missed. Some that were high and one, in particular, in the third quarter that would have been a touchdown to Justyn Ross if it had been on target.
And there were the uncharacteristic mental errors that kept plaguing the Tigers. Four false starts were called on Clemson’s offensive line in the second half, three of which came on critical third downs. As Swinney said, when you give a team too many chances to hang around, crazy things can happen in the game of college football.
When you win 20 consecutive games, it’s easy to get the belief that you can roll over anyone. Swinney tried to tell his team, and us for that matter, all week long that North Carolina was capable of taking down the defending national champions.
Maybe we all should have paid attention.
This game was never supposed to be that close - that much in doubt - in the final moments, especially against a team that just lost a week ago at home to Appalachian State. As 27-point underdogs, the Tar Heels had nothing to lose.
A 16-play touchdown drive led by true freshman Sam Howell put everyone on the edge of their seats. The Tar Heels converted two fourth-downs on the drive and took 8:32 off the clock before Javonte Williams punched in the score from one yard out.
But with the game on the line, Brent Venables knew what was coming on the two-point conversion as the Tigers prepared for the pesky speed option this week at practice. Xavier Thomas and Chad Smith played the read perfectly, and the play fell just yards short.
And when Clemson needed to score on offense on the previous drive, No. 16 showed what he could do. After a Tar Heels failed fourth-down conversion, Clemson got the ball with favorable field position on its own 40. Lawrence found Chalk on a third-and-3 and then Higgins a few plays later on third-and-6 for a 38-yard touchdown bomb, the longest play of the night for Clemson. Higgins finished the game with six catches for 129 yards and a touchdown.
“When we had to make a play, we did,” Swinney said.
It had been almost one year to the day since Clemson faced its last bit of adversity. Since the Tigers barely scraped by Syracuse in 2018, they had won 14 consecutive games by 14 points or more.
Maybe the Tigers were due for a scare. Due for a wake-up call. Or a slice of humble pie when many came into the game wondering how long it would take before all of Clemson’s 72 players who made the trip touched the field.
“It isn’t easy to win. We aren’t entitled to win,” Swinney added after admitting that Clemson was out-played. “Sometimes, the team that plays the best doesn’t win.”
Swinney had been waiting nine years to avenge the misery that was felt the last time he stepped foot in Tar Heel country. In the end, North Carolina was just yards away from almost making Swinney that much miserable again.
Almost.
Instead, relief. Instead, a 20th consecutive victory, only this time by the skin of the Tigers’ teeth. A lesson learned in victory rather than in defeat.
“Today was a tough day at the office,” Swinney said. “Fortunate to win. Very, very blessed to be able to win this game. We’ll take it. Move on.
“Onward.”