Through the years, Clemson Football has had some firework-like moments.
What do I mean?
I mean moments that were big and bright in Clemson history. Some moments were bright at the time, but short lived, while other moments were long lasting and will never be forgotten.
For example, Jerry Butler’s leaping, twisting catch of a Steve Fuller pass in the 1977 South Carolina game. Clemson had taken a 24-0 lead in the third quarter, only to watch the Gamecocks run off 27-unanswered points to take a 27-24 lead in the final moments. That set the stage for Butler’s dramatic game-winning catch.
At Clemson, it is simply known as “The Catch.”
A year later, Clemson met Ohio State in the 1978 Gator Bowl. The Buckeyes were heavy favorites, as Clemson had a 30-year-old head coach named Danny Ford, who was making his coaching debut. He was going against Woody Hayes, one of the legendary coaches in college football history.
The Tigers led 17-15 when Ohio State got the football back in the final minutes following a Clemson turnover. Art Schlichter was driving the Buckeyes down the field for the winning score, when he was intercepted by Clemson defensive tackle Charlie Bauman.
What happened after Bauman’s interception became College Football History.
The lights were bright for Clemson again three years later in the 1982 Orange Bowl. Clemson was playing mighty Nebraska with the national championship on the line. In the third quarter, with the Tigers leading 12-7, Homer Jordan threw a fade pass to the end zone where Perry Tuttle made a great catch to put them up two touchdowns.
As Tuttle celebrated what turned out to be the winning score, Sports Illustrated caught the iconic image that still lives in Clemson lore today.
In 1986, Clemson traveled to Sanford Stadium to take on a Georgia Bulldogs team few gave them a chance to beat. In what is still considered one of the most exciting games between the two rivals, the Tigers got the football late in the game following a Georgia turnover and drove for the winning score.
Then, as time expired, David Treadwell made one of the most memorable plays in Clemson history.
Lou Holtz came to Columbia and did the unimaginable. He took a program that had lost 22 straight games from 1998-’99 and in two seasons turned them into winners.
He then had South Carolina at the front door about to end a long losing streak to Clemson, as his Gamecocks grabbed a 14-13 lead on the Tigers in the closing minutes of the 2000 game in Clemson. But Woody Dantzler and Rod Gardner had other plans.
It is simply known at Clemson as “The Catch II”.
Three years later in Columbia, Clemson quarterback Charlie Whitehurst had his finest hour. He completed 18-of-26 passes for 302 yards and four touchdowns, while also rushing for 43 more yards. He established new records against the Gamecocks for passing yards, touchdown passes and total offense in the victory.
Whitehurst also helped Clemson score the most points by either team in the history of the rivalry.
In one of the most exciting games in Clemson history, Dabo Swinney got his first win over a ranked opponent on the road thanks to a CJ Spiller kickoff return and Jacoby Ford drawing up the game-winning play in the dirt, as the Tigers knocked off No. 8 Miami in overtime in 2009.
DeAndre Hopkins forever etched his way into Clemson lore when he caught a 26-yard pass from Tajh Boyd to help the Tigers beat LSU in the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl. The play is known by every Clemson fan as “4th-and-16”.
Every Clemson player, coach and fan brought their own guts to Clemson’s 24-22 win over No. 6 Notre Dame in a driving-rain storm at Memorial Stadium in 2015. The Tigers did not clinch the win until Ben Boulware and Carlos Watkins teamed up for what was a late two-point conversion stop after an Irish touchdown.
On January 9, 2017, Deshaun Watson found Hunter Renfrow for a 2-yard touchdown with one second left, as Clemson rallied to beat No. 1 Alabama in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. The play gave Clemson its first national championship in 35 years, in what is considered one of the greatest championship games in the History of College Football.
Two years later, on January 7, 2019, Trevor Lawrence became the first true freshman in the History of College Football to lead his team to a national championship, as he completed 20-of-32 passes for 347 yards and three touchdowns in a blowout win over No. 1 Alabama in the CFP National Championship Game.
On December 28, 2019, Clemson rallied from 16-points down to beat No. 2 Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, as part of the CFP Semifinals. It is still the largest come-from-behind victory in Clemson’s postseason history and the second largest overall.
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