By Will Vandervort.
WINTON-SALEM, N.C. — When Clemson called for a jet-sweep-pass to Artavis Scott with 11:03 to play in the game Thursday night, the freshman wide receiver had one thing on his mind – get the ball in the end zone.
“When (offensive coordinator Chad Morris) called that play in the huddle before we went back out there, I was thinking, ‘I got to get back in the end zone and make up for the one that I missed that was wide open,” Scott said.
Well, he made up for it alright. Scott took the toss pass from quarterback Cole Stoudt and cut it up the right side sideline where he got a block on the edge and then broke two would-be tackles on his way to a 68-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown.
It turned out to be the game-winning score as the 19th-ranked Tigers beat Wake Forest, 34-20, at BB&T Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C.
“I think that play was huge, but I think the biggest play he made was the catch in the end zone coming off the little whip-route and Cole did a great job getting it to him,” Morris said. “That was huge. To me that was as big as any play in this ballgame.
“But he has made some big plays for us and he has made some at the right time and it is really good to see that.”
The whip-route Morris was talking about came in the second quarter when Scott caught a four-yard touchdown pass from Stoudt that gave the Tigers a 17-14 lead with 27 seconds left to play in the first half.
Scott finished the night with eight catches for 122 yards and two scores.
“It was just good for me to get back out there and get a feel for everything and get back in the end zone,” he said. “It feels great. We practice so hard and it felt good for us to get back out there.”
Scott’s first touchdown gave the Tigers (7-2, 6-1) the lead just before the half and his second one gave them the lead for good. Running back Wayne Gallman added a 30-yard touchdown run with 6:36 to play in the game to seal the victory.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “They found a way to win by a couple of touchdowns and I thought we did a tremendous job in the fourth quarter in particular.”
Especially Scott, who fumbled the ball in the third quarter when the Tigers had the ball at the Wake Forest nine-yard line on fourth-and-one. Morris elected to go for the first down and called an option play to Scott, who started in motion and when the ball was snapped turned around and went with Stoudt. The wide side of the field was wide open and the freshman more than likely would have walked into the end zone, but he took his eyes off the ball and fumbled the pitch. When he gathered it, the Demon Deacons surrounded him and threw him for an eight-yard loss to the 17.
But Scott made up for his mistake and then some with his 68-yard touchdown that put the Tigers on top for good with 10:53 to play in the game.
“We just had to get a spark. That’s all we wanted to do,” Scott said. “We want to get that spark so we could get the offense moving and get the momentum going for us.”
The next time Clemson got the ball it used that momentum to aid a nine-play, 72-yard drive that gave the Tigers a two-score lead and broke the spirits of the Demon Deacons. Gallman capped the drive with his 30-yard touchdown.
“It was nice to see some of the plays being made that we have been waiting on guys to make,” Morris said.
Especially the one Scott made when it mattered the most.