Moore: Fiesta Bowl turned on two bad calls.
Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence could’ve quit.
A lot of people would have in his situation.
He had just been hammered on a critical third-and-five in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, sacked by Ohio State’s hard-hitting defense on a delayed blitz. Lawrence’s Tigers were down 16-0 midway through the second quarter, and it could have been worse.
Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins had gone for 141 yards and a touchdown on six carries in the first quarter. He was tracked down at the end of a long run by Clemson safety Tanner Muse, who made a diving swipe to trip him up.
If not for that Dobbins would have gone for 150 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter.
Dobbins also dropped a couple of woulda-coulda-shoulda been touchdown passes from quarterback Justin Fields.
All told, it could have easily been 24-0 when Lawrence was leveled by Ohio State cornerback Shaun Wade.
Lawrence’s knee was wrenched underneath him on the play.
He just lay on the grass at State Farm Stadium, writhing in pain. It looked like this College Football Playoff game was going to go just like the Peach Bowl, where LSU jumped all over Oklahoma and ended all the mystery by halftime.
Then, two days after Christmas, Lawrence got the greatest gift a struggling athlete could ever receive. The referees presented Clemson’s crumpled quarterback with a terrible call.
It was targeting, they said. Never mind that Lawrence ducked to brace himself for the impact of a speeding train of a defensive back wearing scarlet and gray.
Nope.
The officials saw fit to enforce the letter of an illegal contact rule that’s been a constant subject of controversy. First down Clemson.
Wade was ejected.
Twitter exploded.
“Throwing OSU’s Wade out of this game is preposterous,” ESPN commentator Mike Wilbon said.
“QB dipped and the defender wrapped up … this is a TERRIBLE call … Officials making themselves the story … SEC has brutal officiating in general … showing itself here,” Fox commentator Joel Klatt said.
Two plays later, the refs did it again. They called defensive pass interference on Amir Riep, the second-string corner who came in to replace Wade. It was another farce of a call. Countless players have gotten away with far worse.
Two plays later, Clemson running back Travis Etienne scored with a tremendous second effort after it looked like Ohio State’s defense had him stopped.
I reacted immediately on Twitter, too. “Can’t even appreciate what Clemson’s Travis Etienne did on that run because the two calls that set it up were unconscionable,” I wrote.
“Still, it’s part of the game,” I continued. “Let’s see how Ohio State responds.”
The Buckeyes didn’t respond well. They went three-and-out and punted on their next drive.
Clemson’s Lawrence took the ball, down 16-7 from the Clemson 17, and he promptly threw four straight passes, completing only one of them. Again, he could have quit.
A lot of people would have. Instead Lawrence took a secondand-10 snap, kept the ball, found a crease and streaked 67 yards downfield for a touchdown.
He didn’t quit.
Win or lose, champions don’t quit. There was plenty of football to play after those two second-quarter drives, but they were the story of the game.
If Lawrence had quit, nothing the officials had done would have mattered.
If the refs hadn’t made those calls, nothing Clemson did would have mattered to Ohio State.
And if the Buckeyes had responded more forcefully, they could have immediately put the game away so that neither refs nor the Tigers could have done anything to stop them.
It’s like that old saying: It’s not what happens to you that leaves the final impression, it’s how you respond to it.
(This column was filed before the game ended to make print deadlines. For a final results, analysis and opinion visit www.azcentral.com)
Reach Moore at gmoore@azcentral.com or 602-444-2236. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @WritingMoore.
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