By Will Vandervort.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Though 19th-ranked Clemson walked away from BB&T Field Thursday night with a 34-20 victory, there was one Clemson Tiger that wasn’t as happy as he should be.
Safety Robert Smith greeted his teammates and coaches in the locker room following the Tigers’ sixth straight win because he was ejected at the start of the fourth quarter after being called for a targeting penalty on Wake Forest tight end Cam Serigne.
“Obviously he is disappointed. He is incredibility disappointed,” Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables said after the game. “The guy loves to play and as of now he is out for the first half of the Georgia Tech game.”
What is even more disappointing is the fact the game official and the replay booth appeared to have got it wrong. The play was a violent collision, but that’s all it was – a collision. That’s what football is, it is a game that is all about contact and what Smith did was legal by the letter of the rule.
He did not lead with his helmet. His head was down. He hit Serigne in the chest with his shoulder. It was a legal hit. At least that is how one of the officials who called the game saw it.
“I don’t feel like that was targeting at all,” cornerback Garry Peters said following the Tigers’ 34-20 victory. “It was crazy. I was out there talking with ref that did not call it and he was saying that was a perfect tackle – that is perfect form tackling. It does not get any better than that.
“He said they will reverse the call and the next thing you know they came out and said it was targeting. It really hurt Robert. I know it is really getting to him. I feel like that was a bad call.”
It wasn’t the only bad call by the ACC crew of Gary Patterson, Rich McMahan, Michael Kelley, Deon Lawrence, Hans Wittelsber, Harry Tyson and Tony Tarantini.
A few plays after Smith was ejected from the game, Peters was called for pass interference on a John Wolford pass that was clearly uncatchable as it was thrown out of the back of the end zone. There was also another questionable pass interference penalty called on Peters in the third quarter when the ball clearly looked uncatchable as it went over the head of the coaches and players on the Clemson sideline.
There were also times when it was obvious defensive ends Vic Beasley, Tavaris Barnes and Shaq Lawson were being held. Wake Forest was called for only one holding penalty all night against the third best sack defense in the country. Keep in mind Wake Forest had allowed 31 sacks prior to Thursday night’s game.
There was also a time when Clemson quarterback Cole Stoudt ran out of bounds in the second quarter and then was smacked late out of bounds by linebacker Grant Dawson. There was no foul called.
“The calls just weren’t going our way,” Peters said. “I feel like we were not only playing against Wake but the referees as well. Some nights, it’s like that and it was great for our team to overcome that.”
Clemson (7-2, 6-1 ACC) overcame it by holding Wake Forest to 119 total yards, including just 32 yards the last three quarters of the game. The Demon Deacons had just seven yards rushing and Wolford was sacked five times overall.
“We were mad,” Peters said. “We came in here with a mindset to play hard and dominate on the field. Things were not going our way. We got some bad calls and the defense came out flat in the first quarter. It kind of made us upset. We came in here at halftime and we had guys getting onto other guys because we want to be great as a team.
“For things not to go our way early, it just triggered to the second half and it made us play that much better in the second half and pay more attention to detail. We had a sense of urgency.”
There definitely will be a sense of urgency against Georgia Tech next week in Atlanta. With Smith suspended for a half, it will be up to others to step up and fill in the void. The Yellow Jackets have one of the nation’s best rushing attacks and their spread-triple-option offense will be difficult to slow down.
Sophomore T.J. Green will more than likely get the start next Saturday.
“We have more guys that can play,” Venables said. “The good thing about (Georgia Tech) is physically it is very stressful and it is mentally stressful because of the discipline it requires, but it is not mentally confusing or real complicated.
“But physically, you have to play real well. Robert played in this game for a couple of years now and he understands it. We will get him back in the second half and we need to step up and our guys will. They will step up and play well.”