Paws Up, Paws Down: A Comeback For The Ages

The 2019 Fiesta Bowl treated fans to one of the most thrilling sixty minutes of football of the season. It was one of those games that Clemson fans haven’t had to endure very often over the last two seasons. The kind of game that leaves you so emotionally drained that trying to sleep is a battle.

After falling behind 16-0, the Tigers finally got on the board late in the 2nd quarter, scoring two touchdowns over the final 3 minutes of the half, cutting the deficit to two, at 16-14. All of a sudden the Tigers had made it a game after being so close to letting it get away from them.

The second half played out like a great heavyweight fight, with each team doing their best to land that knockout blow. When Nolan Turner picked off Justin Fields in the end zone with just over 30 seconds remaining, the Tigers had finally dealt the Buckeyes a blow they from which could not recover.

Clemson has now won 29 straight and will play LSU in the national title game on January 13. They now find themselves in a very familiar role, as LSU is currently favored by as many as 6.5 points at some sportsbooks. Dabo Swinney won’t have any issues playing the underdog card with his team.

Trevor Lawrence

The phenom QB cemented his legendary status with his play in this game. He had a career night using his legs, rushing for 107 yards on 16 carries. When this team needed him to put them on his back and carry them to a win, that’s just what he did. Despite being constantly harassed all night long and being on the receiving end of some devastating hits. Lawrence just kept coming, and refused to lose. His 67-yard TD run in the second quarter was one of the biggest plays of the game..... Paws Up

Jackson Carman

There was a lot of talk about the matchup of Chase Young and Jackson Carman leading up to this game, and on a night that saw the Tigers OL get handled for much of the night, Carman handled Young. So much so that Ohio State started lining up Young on the other side of the field. He had only two tackles and one QB hurry and Carman was a big part of the reason why..... Paws Up

Tyler Davis

Like the OL, the defensive front was handled for much of this game, but Tyler Davis came up with some big plays. He finished with 4 tackles was a big factor on the interior, particularly in the second half..... Paws Up

Chad Smith & James Skalski

With Isaiah Simmons playing in coverage much of the night, both Smith and Skalski had big games. Outside of JK Dobbins’ two big runs he was held to 42 yards on 16 carries, and those two guys were a big part of the reason why. Skalski finished with 9 tackles, half a sack, and half a TFL. Smith led the team with 12 tackles and half a TFL, earning Defensive MVP honors. Both get the..... Paws Up

Nolan Turner

Let’s be honest, Turner had a rough night. He got burned on a long TD pass, and more than once took terrible angles when trying to make a tackle. However, he did come up with the big pick to seal it, and for that alone..... Paws Up

Will Spiers

We have discussed Spiers shortcomings here at length. Last night, none of those were on display. He was booming punts when he wasn’t punting rugby style. He averaged almost 45 yards per punt and had a long of 53. He punted 7 times and 5 were downed inside the 20. 3 of those 7 were over 50 yards..... Paws Up

STS Community

Seeing as this is my farewell piece here at STS, I wanted to take a moment to thank you all. There isn’t a better place on the web community wise as far as I’m concerned. I have loved spending the last two years writing here and can’t thank Brian enough for the opportunity. There are a bunch of talented writers here and they are as knowledgeable as any around. A special thanks to Ryan for taking the time to give me tips in order to help a guy that knew nothing about writing. You all get the..... Paws Up