By Will Vandervort.
The 2014 Sports Year at Clemson was one of the best in recent memory in Tigertown. The Tigers had a lot of success on the playing fields and on the courts. There were momentous victories as well as some agony defeats. But between them all, there were 10 moments this past year that really stood out to us at The Clemson Insider.
Winning the Orange Bowl. Clemson concluded the 2013 football season with perhaps one of the biggest bowl wins in the history of the program. Dabo Swinney led Clemson to a 40-35 victory over No. 6 Ohio State in the Orange Bowl. Quarterback Tajh Boyd threw for 378 yards and five touchdowns, while completing 31 of 40 passes. Wide receiver Sammy Watkins capped the greatest year by a Tiger by catching an Orange Bowl record 16 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns. Martavis Bryant also caught two touchdown passes. Thanks to the win over the Buckeyes, Clemson finished the season 11-2 for a second straight year and ranked No. 8 in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll, the second straight year the Tigers accomplished that feat.
Destroying Oklahoma. How do you top a win over Ohio State in the Orange Bowl? You destroy another one of College Football’s greats a year later. Just three days ago, Clemson routed Oklahoma, 40-6, in the Russell Athletic Bowl. Behind much maligned Cole Stoudt, the Tigers jumped out to a 27-0 lead at halftime and then cruised to the victory. Stoudt threw for 319 yards and three touchdown passes while completing 26 of 36 passes. Artavis Scott and Mike Williams became the first set of wide receivers to record 100-receiving yards in the same game as Scott caught eight passes for 114 yards and a touchdown, while Williams hauled in nine passes for 112 yards. Clemson’s defense completed its run as America’s best defense with a dominating performance. Clemson held the Sooners to 275 total yards, while forcing five turnovers.
Throwing down the visor. For the first time in six years the Tigers beat rival South Carolina, 35-17, ending the Gamecocks five-year run in the longstanding rivalry. Clemson dominated the Gamecocks all afternoon as Deshaun Watson threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Wayne Gallman ran for 191 yards and wide receiver Artavis Scott caught seven passes for 185 yards and scored on touchdowns of 53 and 70 yards. It was the first time in the history of the rivalry that a quarterback threw for more than 250 yards, a running back ran for 100 and a wide receiver had 100 or more receiving yards. The Clemson defense held USC for 63 yards rushing, forced two turnovers and sacked quarterback Dylan Thompson five times. At the end of the game, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney announced to the media that Watson played the entire game with a torn ACL.
Hittin’ the Big Apple. The Clemson basketball team conclude an improbable run through the NIT by beating Georgia State, Illinois and Belmont to advance to the Final Four in New York. It was an improbable run because the Tigers were picked to finish 14th by the ACC media in the 15-team league before the season started. Clemson finished the year sixth in the ACC overall with a 10-8 record and won 23 games overall. The Tigers also advanced to the quarterfinal round of the ACC Tournament.
Freshman phenom. From the moment he entered the game against Georgia in the season-opener, it was obvious how good of a player Deshaun Watson is. In his first drive as a college quarterback, he completed a 29-yard pass to Mike Williams and then a 30-yard dart to Charone Peake for a touchdown. He then came in for Cole Stoudt at Florida State a few weeks later and nearly led the Tigers to a victory, while throwing for 266 yards on 19 of 28 passing. In his first game as a starter he set a school-record while throwing for six touchdown passes and 435 yards in a 50-35 victory over UNC. The next week he totaled four touchdowns and 267 passing yards in a 41-0 victory over NC State. Injuries derailed the rest of the season as he missed most of the Louisville and Georgia Tech games, while missing all four games against Boston College, Syracuse, Wake Forest and Georgia State. He then beat South Carolina with 269 passing yards and two touchdowns despite playing with a torn ACL.
Leggett returns: Despite being a Hall of Fame Coach and taking his Tigers to six College World Series appearances, there was a time after last season’s disappointing run in the Nashville (NCAA) Regional that Clemson was going to part ways with the Legendary Coach, who has been at Clemson since 1994. After a couple of conversations with athletic director Dan Radakovich, Clemson decided to bring Leggett back for a 22nd season but they did not extend his contract which has only two years remaining. The Tigers finished the 2014 season at 36-25, which included an 18-1 loss to Oregon and a 6-4 loss to Xavier in the Nashville Regional. Leggett was under fire from fans despite a 20th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 21 seasons as head coach.
Soccer takes over the ACC: After more than 10 years of being irrelevant in men’s soccer, the Tigers won the ACC Tournament with a victory over Louisville in the ACC Championship game. The Tigers then advanced to the second round of the ACC Tournament. In five seasons, head coach Mike Noonan has slowly built the Clemson program, which owns two national championships, back to being a force in the ACC and around the country. The Tigers completed the season with a 14-7-1 record.
Sammy goes No. 4: After a record-breaking career at Clemson, one in which he became the first player in Clemson history to earn First-Team All-American status three straight years, Sammy Watkins was taken No. 4 overall in the NFL Draft last May. Watkins No. 4 overall selection matched the same selections of Gaines Adams and Banks McFadden in the NFL Draft in Clemson history. Watkins finished his first year at Buffalo with a rookie record 982 yards and six touchdowns on 65 catches.
Clemson hosed by Duke: Trailing by one point with 3.8 seconds to go following two Rodney Hood free throws, Clemson coach Brownell designed a play the Tigers run in practice every day. It calls for point guard Rod Hall to take the basketball from the quarter part on his side of the court to the Duke basket where he either makes the game-winning basket or draws contact and gets to the foul line. Everything went according to plan and when Tyler Thornton and Rasheed Sulaimon made contact with him as he went up for the shot, most everyone on the Clemson bench thought he was going to get the call, just as Hood did moments before in the exact same situation. Instead, officials Rogers Ayers, Sean Hull and Bill Covington swallowed their whistles and No. 7 Duke escaped from the Greensboro Coliseum with a 63-62 victory over the Tigers.
Tigers survive Louisville: Defensive tackle DeShawn Williams knocked down Will Gardner’s fourth-and-goal pass from the two-yard line in the final seconds to preserve the Tigers’ 23-17 victory over Louisville. Williams knocked down the pass after James Quick took a slant pass 73 yards to the Clemson 8-yard line. Safety Jayron Kearse chased him down from behind to prevent the touchdown. After a first-down pass gained seven yards to the two, the Tigers stoned the running back on the next play which forced the Cardinals to have to clock the ball and loose a down. On fourth down, Gardner rolled right, stopped a fired across his body, which Williams knocked down for an incomplete pass. That started a massive celebration on the Clemson sideline.