By Will Vandervort.
The greatest comebacks in Clemson history
What the Seattle Seahawks did to advance to their second straight Super Bowl on Sunday was amazing. Despite five turnovers and a 16-0 halftime deficit, they found a way to score 15 points in the final three minutes of regulation and then got a 35-yard Russell Wilson to Jermaine Kearse touchdown pass to beat the Green Bay Packers in what is perhaps the greatest come-from-behind win in the AFC/NFC Championship Games.
It also got me thinking about some of the best comebacks in Clemson football history. See if you remember some or all of these games. I bet somebody does.
October 11, 1958: Clemson kept its top 10 ranking alive with a 12-7 victory at Vanderbilt. Clemson quarterback Harvey White scored the game winner with three seconds left to win the game. It is still the latest game-winning touchdown in Clemson history. It was one of four games in 1958 in which Clemson had to score a fourth-quarter touchdown to win the game.
September 24, 1966: In the first game in which Howard’s Rock was present in Death Valley, the Tigers rallied from an 18-point third quarter deficit to beat Virginia 40-35. It is still considered one of the more thrilling victories in the history of Death Valley and only adds to the legend of Howard’s Rock. Clemson trailed 35-17 late in the third quarter, but rode on the arm of Jimmy Addison to keep its perfect record against the Cavaliers alive. Addison was 12 of 19 for 283 yards and three touchdowns, including a 74-yard pass to Jackie Anderson with 3:49 to play that proved to be the game-winner. Clemson outscored Virginia 23-0 in the final 18 minutes to win the game.
November 19, 1977: This was almost the worst defeat in Clemson history as the Tigers’ blew a 24-0 lead midway through the third quarter against archrival South Carolina. Clemson led 17-0 at halftime and then went up 24-0 when Ken Callicutt rumbled 52 yards with a little more than seven-minutes to play in the third quarter. The Gamecocks then rallied to score 27 unanswered points, including a 40-yard touchdown pass from Ron Bass to Steve Logan with 1:48 to play. But Steve Fuller did not allow USC to celebrate too long. He directed a game-winning drive in the final 1:48, which included a 26-yard pass to Rick Weddington, an 18-yard pass to Dwight Clark and then a 20-yard pass to Jerry Butler for the game-winning touchdown with 48 seconds left. Butler made a leaping, twisting catch in the end zone which to this day is still considered the greatest single play in the history of the longstanding rivalry. Clemson people refer to it as “The Catch.”
November 16, 1979: Clemson scored 16 unanswered points in the second half to defeat Notre Dame in South Bend, 16-10. The Fighting Irish took a 10-0 lead by halftime but Obed Ariri’s three field goals and a 26-yard touchdown run by quarterback Billy Lott proved to be the difference. It marked just the third time in 40 years Notre Dame’ seniors lost their final home game. Clemson safety Terry Kinard had three interceptions in the game.
October 11, 1980: Obed Ariri kicked a 52-yard field goal with six seconds left to lift Clemson to a 27-24 victory at Virginia. The Tigers trailed 24-10 entering the fourth quarter. It is still known as the greatest fourth-quarter comeback in Clemson history. Ariri’s 52-yard field goal is still the longest field goal to win a game in Clemson history.
September 19, 1987: Clemson rallied to score five points in the final five minutes of the game to beat Georgia 21-20 on a 21-yard David Treadwell field goal with two seconds left. Trailing 20-16 with more than five minutes to play, cornerback James Lott and safety Gene Beasley tackled Georgia quarterback James Jackson in the end zone for a safety and then on Clemson’s ensuing drive Terry Allen broke of runs of 11 and 17 yards to set up Treadwell’s game-winning kick.
October 10, 1992: Clemson overcame a 28-0 second deficit to defeat No. 10 Virginia in Charlottesville, 29-28. Nelson Welch kicked a 32-yard field goal with 52 seconds left to cap the greatest comeback in ACC history involving two ACC teams. Quarterback Louis Solomon came off the bench with the score 28-0 and led the charge. His 64-yard run for a touchdown just before halftime changed the course of the game. The win over the No. 10 Cavaliers was just the third at the time in Clemson history over a top 10 team on the road.
December 31, 1993: Clemson scored the latest touchdown in a game to gain victory since 1958 as Patrick Sapp connected with Terry Smith on a 21-yard scoring play with 20 seconds left for a 14-13 victory in the 1993 Peach Bowl. It was Tommy West’s first game as a head coach at Clemson.
September 13, 1997: Matt Padgett kicked a 20-yard field goal with 19 seconds left to give Clemson a 19-17 win at NC State. Nealon Greene became the first quarterback in Clemson history to have consecutive 250-yard passing games. He also had 76 rushing yards as his 336 total yards were the second most in Clemson history at the time.
October 21, 2000: Clemson improved to 8-0 with a 38-24 victory at North Carolina. Backup quarterback Willie Simmons threw four touchdown passes, three to Rod Gardner, in the win. Clemson overcame a 17-0 deficit, the third largest in school history to gain victory.
November 18, 2000: Rod Gardner made a spectacular 50-yard catch with 10 seconds left to set up Aaron Hunt’s 25-yard game-winning field goal with just three seconds remaining for a 16-14 victory over South Carolina. Gardner’s catch is known as “Catch II” by Clemson fans. USC fans refer to it as the “Push off.”
September 29, 2001: Clemson defeated No. 9 Georgia Tech, 47-44, in overtime in what can only be described as one of the greatest games in Clemson history. The Tigers trailed by four points late in the fourth quarter when quarterback Woodrow Dantzler hit J.J. McKelvey for a long touchdown pass on a fourth-and-18 play in the final minutes of the game. Though Tech tied the game with a field goal to force overtime, Dantzler scored on an 11-yard run in the extra frame for the winning score. Dantzler rushed for 164 yards and passed for 254 more which earned him National Player of the Week honors. The win over the Yellow Jackets marked the highest ranked road-win since the 1981 season.
November 2, 2002: Clemson scored 24 points in the fourth quarter and overcame a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit for just the second time in Clemson history in a 34-31 victory at Duke. Aaron Hunt kicked a 21-yard field goal with eight seconds left to give the Tigers the victory. Freshman quarterback Charlie Whitehurst completed a Clemson single-game record 34 passes and threw for a school record 420 yards in his first career start. Whitehurst also tied the single-game record for touchdowns at the time with four.
November 23, 2002: Clemson outscored South Carolina 14-0 in the final quarter for a 27-20 victory in Death Valley. It was the 100th meeting between the two schools. Charlie Whitehurst completed 27 of 38 passes for 287 yards in the victory.
October 11, 2003: Clemson extended its record in overtime games to 3-0 with a 30-27 victory over Virginia in Death Valley. Kevin Youngblood scored the winning touchdown on a four-yard pass from Charlie Whitehurst.
November 6, 2004: Clemson scored 21 unanswered points and held No. 10 Miami scoreless in the second half and in overtime to upset the Hurricanes 24-17 in the old Orange Bowl. The Tigers trailed 17-3 at halftime. The win marked the Tigers third win over a top 10 team in two seasons as the Tigers improved to 5-0 in overtime.
September 3, 2005: Clemson opened the season with a thrilling come-from-behind victory over No. 17 Texas A&M in Death Valley. Jad Dean kicked a school-record six field goals, including a 42-yarder with two seconds left to give Clemson its win over a ranked team to open a season since 1958.
September 10, 2005: Clemson had its second straight come-from-behind victory in a 28-24 win at Maryland. Running back Reggie Merriweather scored on a 38-yard run with 2:58 left in the game for the winning score. Charlie Whitehurst connected on 18 of 22 passes for 178 yards. The Tigers overcame a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to gain the victory.
November 19, 2005: “First-and-35” That’s what Clemson people remember about this come-from-behind win over No. 19 South Carolina. Following a clipping and holding penalties on back-to-back plays, the Tigers found themselves buried at their own 22-yard line and needing to get to the USC 43 for a first down late in the game. But quarterback Charlie Whitehurst completed three passes in a row, the last a 28-yard strike to Curtis Baham on third-and-12 from the 35. The pass moved the ball to the South Carolina 27. Running back James Davis then rolled off a 23-yard run to the 4-yard line, and then rushed two yards before scoring the game-winner on the next play for a 13-9 victory in Columbia. Whitehurst ended his career a perfect 4-0 against the Gamecocks, the only quarterback on either side of the rivalry to win four times.
October 7, 2006: Gaines Adams returned a botched field goal attempt 66 yards for a touchdown to spark a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback in Clemson’s 27-17 victory at Wake Forest. The Tigers trailed 17-3 at the start of the fourth quarter when Adams made the game-changing play. It marked just the fourth-time in school history Clemson overcame a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to gain victory.
November 24, 2007: Kicker Mark Buchholz booted a 35-yard field goal on the last play of the game to give Clemson a 23-21 victory over South Carolina. Quarterback Cullen Harper connected with Aaron Kelly four times for 70 yards on the final drive to set up the game-winning field goal. Clemson blocked two punts in the game, including one that was returned for a touchdown by La’Donte Harris.
October 24, 2009: Kyle Parker hit Jacoby Ford on a 26-yard touchdown pass on third-and-11 in overtime to lift Clemson to a 40-37 overtime victory at No. 8 Miami – tying for the highest-ranked opponent on the road Clemson has beaten. C.J. Spiller gained a school-record 310 all-purpose yards, while safety DeAndre McDaniel had two interceptions, including one he returned 23 yards for a touchdown.
October 15, 2011: Sammy Watkins set a school record with 345 all-purpose yards in Clemson’s 56-45 victory at Maryland. He had an 89-yard kickoff return for a score and added two receiving touchdowns as the Tigers overcame an 18-point deficit to win the game.
November 12, 2011: Chandler Catanzaro kicked a 43-yard field goal as time expired as Clemson clinched the ACC Atlantic Division title with a come-from-behind 31-28 victory over Wake Forest in Death Valley. Clemson trailed the Demon Deacons 28-14 in the third quarter before they rallied to get the win. It marked the first game-winning kick for Clemson as time expired in Death Valley.
December 31, 2012: Chandler Catanzaro booted a 37-yard field goal as time expired to give the Tigers a 25-24 victory over No. 7 LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Clemson trailed LSU 24-13 at the start of the fourth quarter, but scored the final 12 points for the dramatic victory. Quarterback Tajh Boyd completed a 26-yard pass to DeAndre Hopkins on fourth-and-16 from the Clemson 16-yard line in the final two minutes to spark the Tigers’ game-winning drive.