Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Clemson savors national title
Swinney stays up till dawn after upset win over Alabama
TAMPA — As the sun rose on a new day Tuesday in Tampa, Clemson fans rubbed the sleep out of their eyes, wondering if what they witnessed the night before had been a dream.
For Dabo Swinney, this new day was unlike any he had ever experienced as a coach.
“I watched the sun rise. It was incredible,” a bleary-eyed Swinney said with a smile.
You can pardon the Clemson coach for his lack of sleep — just an hour to be precise — but it’s a small price to pay when your team won the national championship a few hours earlier.
The No. 2 Tigers pulled off an improbable 35-31 win over topranked Alabama in front of a Raybetween mond James Stadium record announced crowd of 74,512, many of whom were decked out in orange.
It was the program’s first national championship in more than 35 years.
Much like the first title game these two programs last season, the sequel saw Alabama jump out to a 24-14 lead after three quarters.
Deshaun Watson led Clemson’s
fourth-quarter rally during last season’s title tilt that fell just short. This time around, the junior quarterback would finish the job, leading the Tigers to two touchdowns in the final 4:38, including a 2-yard pass to Hunter Renfrow with a second left on the clock to seal the deal.
“It was just another opportunity for us to show what we’re about, just on a bigger stage,” Watson said of the final play. “I told the guys, hey, let’s be great, let’s be special. And my offensive line gave me time, the receivers made big, big plays, and I just had pretty much the easy part, just getting the ball in the direction of the receivers and let them go out there and make the plays.”
After Alabama’s Jalen Hurts scored on a 30-yard run that gave the Tide a late lead, Watson directed the Clemson offense on what would be the game-winning drive, marching the Tigers to the 2-yard line with six seconds left to play.
After a timeout, the Tigers huddled up to decide whether to go for the win or kick a field goal and send the game into overtime. It wasn’t a tough call for Clemson.
“Our mentality was to play to win,” Swinney recalled. “We were not playing to kick a field goal. We were playing to try to win the game, and we were able to put it in No. 4’s hands, and he got it done.” Watson wears that No. 4 jersey. Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott was the one who dialed up the play known as Crush, a favorite among the players. It called for Watson to sprint out to his right to avoid the pressure and allow Renfrow to break for the corner of the end zone.
“Six seconds is really tight as far as if you throw an incomplete pass and all the time runs off the clock,” Scott said. “We felt like we could get the ball out quick enough.”
Watson recalled, “I kind of smiled and knew before I snapped the ball it was going to be a touchdown.”
For Renfrow, a former walk-on, the moment seemed surreal.
“It’s been a journey for me,” he said.
Shortly after the win, Scott recalled: “We talked about a finish like this happening. In a movie, the best part doesn’t happen in the middle, the adversity happens in the middle and the best part happens right there at the end. Now, I didn’t know the end was going to be with one second left. I just thought it was going to be tonight.”
Clemson made history Monday night, but the Tigers aren’t content with just one title.
“What’s next?” Swinney said before pausing to collect his thoughts. “For us it’ll be, like I said, enjoying this moment, but getting excited about coming back and seeing if we can charge back up the mountain next year.”