By Will Vandervort.
New co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott does not think that playing Oklahoma in the Russell Athletic Bowl is an opportunity for Cole Stoudt to redeem himself or for him and Jeff Scott—the other offensive coordinator—to prove to be people how good they can be as coordinators.
Nope, he says none of that matters. The only thing that matters is the 17th-ranked Tigers find a way to beat one of the more storied programs in all of College Football.
The Sooners (8-4) rank seventh all-time in total victories at 848 and have won seven national championships and has had 154 All-Americans. Since World War II Oklahoma has won 606 games, the most by any program dating back to 1945.
To give an idea of how impressive that is, Clemson has won 689 games total in its 118-years, which ranks 30th all-time.
“This is an opportunity for us to make a statement,” Elliott said. “We believe we have the foundation and the program where it needs to be and to take that next step you have to be able to go out and win a game like this.”
Clemson (9-3) has won a lot of games like this in the last four years. The Tigers have already beaten national powers Auburn and Georgia in regular season games and has taken out LSU and Ohio State the last two seasons in bowl games.
Now they are excited to have an opportunity to take out another big-name team.
“What makes it special is that I thought I would never play (Oklahoma) ever, you know what I mean,” Clemson left guard David Beasley said. “It’s special because it is Oklahoma. This is Oklahoma. This is a big-name team. I love to play teams like this.
“I was glad we got to play LSU. I wish I could play Alabama. I like to play these heavyweights, and I get to play another heavyweight in Oklahoma. They were preseason No. 1 coming in, but they have had some tough games and they have not been losing by much. I just like to play tough people to see how good I am.”
The Tigers and Sooners have met just three times before the Dec. 29 bowl game in Orlando, Fla., and ironically the last time they met was nearly 26 years ago in the 1989 Citrus Bowl. Clemson won that game 13-6 in what was a defensive battle all afternoon.
That was an historical win for the Clemson football program at the time and these days it would also rank the same way, especially for a senior class that will have an opportunity to win its 42-game, it’s four-straight 10-win season and its third consecutive bowl game.
“Whenever you play an opponent like this, it is always a big deal to take the next step in your program,” Clemson linebacker Tony Steward said. “I think being able to play against them in the last game, will allow us to put our best foot forward and leave college on a good note.”