Clemson falls flat in loss to Gamecocks

Clemson Tigers 2009 ... Head Coach: Dabo Swinney

- 2009 Clemson Preview
- 2008 Clemson Season
- 2008 Clemson Preview
- 2007 Clemson Season

2009 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 8-4
2009 Record: 8-4

9/5 Middle Tenn W 37-14
9/10 at Ga Tech L 30-27
9/19 Boston Coll W 35-7
9/26 TCU L 14-10
10/3 at Maryland L 24-21
10/10 OPEN DATE
10/17 Wake Forest W 38-3
10/24 at Miami W 40=37 OT
10/31 Coast Carolina W 49-3
11/7 Florida St W 40-24
11/14 at NC State W 43-23
11/21 Virginia  W 34-21
11/28 at S Carolina L 34-17
ACC Championship
12/3 Georgia Tech

2008 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 10-2
2008 Record: 7-6

8/30 Alabama (Atl.) L 34-10
9/6 The Citadel W 45-17
9/13 NC State W 27-9
9/20 SC State W 54-0
9/27 Maryland L 20-17
10/4  OPEN DATE
10/9 at Wake Forest L 12-7
10/18 Georgia Tech L 21-17
10/25  OPEN DATE
11/1 at Boston Coll W 27-21
11/8 at Florida St L 41-27
11/15 Duke W 31-7
11/22 at Virginia W 13-3
Nov. 29 South Carolina W 31-14
Gator Bowl
1/1 Nebraska L 26-21

Clemson Tigers

Nov. 27
at South Carolina 34 … Clemson 17
Stephen Garcia threw three touchdown passes including two short ones to Weslye Saunders, while the defense contained C.J. Spiller as South Carolina won easily. Spiller took the opening kickoff 88 yards for a score, but that was it for the Tiger explosiveness the Gamecocks allowing just 260 yards of total Tiger offense while hanging on to the ball for over 36 minutes. Brian Maddox tied the score at seven with a one-yard run sparking a run of 24 straight points. Clemson didn’t get into the end zone until the final four minutes on a 22-yard Michael Palmer catch.
Player of the Game: South Carolina RB Kenny Miles ran 17 times for 114 yards
Clemson: Passing: Kyle Parker, 22-42, 212 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: C.J. Spiller, 9-18, Receiving: Michael Palmer, 8-106, 1 TD
South Carolina: Passing: Stephen Garcia, 10-21, 126 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Kenny Miles, 17-114, Receiving: Alshon Jeffery, 4-65
What It All Means: Was Clemson flat because the important game is next week against Georgia Tech, or is this an indictment of the team and its problems? It might be a little of both, but that was a ramped up Gamecock defense that focused everyone on stopping C.J. Spiller and the offense fell flat from there. The bigger concern is the run defense that allowed 223 yards to an average USC ground game. Georgia Tech will be licking its chops as the holes the mediocre Gamecock O line created. 

Nov. 21
at Clemson 34 … Virginia 21
Kyle Parker threw two touchdown passes and Andre Ellington ran for a five-yard touchdown as Clemson got past the pesky Cavaliers to earn the Atlantic title. C.J. Spiller ran for a four-yard touchdown in the second quarter on the way for a 14-7 Tiger lead, but Virginia fought back with a five-yard Vic Hall touchdown pass to Joe Torchia. Jameel Sewell ran for a six-yard score and connected with Mikell Simpson for a 23-yard touchdown to get the Cavs within three going into the fourth, but the Tigers scored ten unanswered points to pull away.
Player of the Game: Clemson LB Kavell Conner made 15 tackles with a tackle for loss
Virginia: Passing: Jameel Sewell, 11-17, 160 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Mikell Simpson, 14-84, Receiving: Kris Burd, 4-60
Clemson: Passing: Kyle Parker, 19-26, 234 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: C.J Spiller, 19-58, 1 TD, Receiving: Jacoby Ford, 6-106, 1 TD
What It All Means: On a six-game winning streak, Clemson is red-hot and going to the ACC title game needing to beat Georgia Tech to get to the BCS. For years, the program has been close to being among the league’s elite, but for all the talent and all the potential, there was disappointment after disappointment. Helped by C.J. Spiller’s run to a possible Heisman finalists spot, and the offensive explosion that’s been consistently great against all the mediocre teams, the Tigers are where they’re supposed to be. However, for all the positives, a loss at South Carolina could kill the buzz going into the battle with the Yellow Jackets. 

Nov. 14
Clemson 43 … at NC State 23
C.J. Spiller did it all for the Tigers with a 34-yard touchdown catch, a 16-yard scoring run, and a 17-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Dye on the way to an easy Clemson win. The Tigers got up 24-7 at halftime, but NC State kept fighting with two Russell Wilson touchdown passes, but they weren’t enough to keep up with the efficient and effective Tigers. Jamie Harper made the game a blowout halfway through the fourth on a 69-yard Jamie Harper run.
Player of the Game: Clemson RB C.J. Spiller ran 18 times for 97 yards and a score, he caught three passes for 48 yards and a score, threw a 17-yard touchdown pass, and returned a kickoff for 13 yards.
NC State: Passing: Russell Wilson, 12-32, 183 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Toney Baker, 19-76, Receiving: Owen Spencer, 3-50
Clemson: Passing: Kyle Parker, 12-18, 183 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: C.J. Spiller, 18-97, 1 TD, Receiving: Jacoby Ford, 2-55
What It All Means: Is anyone playing with more confidence than the Tigers right now? C.J. Spiller is closing out his career by taking his game to another level, Kyle Parker is throwing extremely well and is coming up with the big throws needed to take advantage of everyone watching Spiller, and the ground game is doing its job. The Pack ran for 254 yards against the Wolfpack, and now it’s one game against Virginia to get a shot at Georgia Tech for the ACC title. The defense could stand to be tighter, but it’s along for the ride while the offense keeps rolling (scoring 40 points or more in each of the last four games). 

Nov. 7
at Clemson 40 … Florida State 24
It was the C.J. Spiller show as the Tiger running back took a pass 58 yards for a score and ran for a five-yard touchdown as Clemson dominated the second half. Florida State got up 17-6 in the first quarter helped by a 49-yard Lonnie Pryor touchdown catch and a 52-yard Jamie Robinson interception return for a score, but Kyle Parker was able to get the Tigers back into the game with a 43-yard pass to Xavier Dye to spark a 34-7 run. Kyle Parker threw four touchdown passes on the day and Clemson picked off four Christian Ponder passes, but Clemson didn’t pull away until late in the fourth with a two-yard Durrell Berry touchdown catch.
Player of the Game: Clemson RB C.J. Spiller ran 22 times for 165 yards, caught three passes for 67 yards and a score, returned three kickoffs for 71 yards, and returned a punt for nine yards.
Florida State: Passing: Christian Ponder, 21-33, 264 yds, 1 TD, 4 INT
Rushing: Jermaine Thomas, 26-119, Receiving: Rod Owens, 9-77
Clemson: Passing: Kyle Parker, 18-30, 242 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: C.J. Spiller, 22-165, 1 TD, Receiving: Xavier Dye, 3-68, 1 TD 
What It All Means: For all the problems Florida State has had, at least the passing game was clicking. Against Clemson, Jermaine Thomas and the running game were fine, but Christian Ponder finally had a dud of a performance throwing four interceptions in an attempt to keep up the pace. With all the problems with the coaching staff and defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews, it wasn’t a good enough game from the Seminole D to show that things could be turned around. C.J. Spiller was busy doing whatever he wanted to with big play after big play, while Kyle Parker threw too well on the beleaguered FSU secondary. Now it’s going to take wins over Wake Forest and Maryland just to get to a bowl game. Forget about hanging around with Florida in the regular season finale.

Oct. 31
at Clemson 49 … Coastal Carolina 3
Clemson put the game away early with Jacoby Ford catching a 36-yard touchdown catch and throwing a 23-yard scoring pass to Xavier Dye, and C.J. Spiller running for a six-yard score on the way to a 21-0 halftime lead. The Tigers held CCU to 170 yards of total offense and got up 49-0 before Justin Durham hit a 31-yard field goals late. The Tigers got a 55-yard Andre Ellington touchdown run and short scoring runs from Willy Korn and Jamie Harper in the third.
Player of the Game: Clemson LB Corico Hawkins made eight tackles and two sacks
Coastal Carolina: Passing: Justin Cramer, 2-3, 15 yds
Rushing: Jamie Childers, 11-49, Receiving: David Duran, 2-15
Clemson: Passing: Kyle Parker, 7-16, 70 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Andre Ellington, 6-88, 1 TD, Receiving: Jacoby Ford, 4-45, 1 TD
What It All Means: Obviously Clemson was going to beat Coastal Carolina, but there were some concerns coming out of the light scrimmage. Kyle Parker struggled a bit completing just 7-of-16 passes with two interceptions, while Willy Korn was sharper. Star DT DaQuan Bowers suffered a sprained knee and is questionable at best for next week’s game against Florida State. The Tigers can beat the Noles if Parker or Korn get hot; the FSU secondary is miserable and needs to be exploited. The offense has been fine, but outside of some big plays from C.J. Spiller and Jacoby Ford, it hasn’t been consistent or explosive.

Oct. 24
Clemson 40 … at Miami 37 OT
Miami got a 22-yard field goal in overtime, but Clemson answered with a perfect strike from Kyle Parker to Jacoby Ford from 26 yards out for the win. The Tigers were able to force overtime with a 30-yard Richard Jackson field goal with five seconds to play to cap off a wild first four quarters. Clemson got a 90-yard kickoff return for a score and a 56-yard touchdown catch from C.J. Spiller, while the defense got into the act with a 23-yard DeAndre McDaniel interception return for a score. Miami had some big plays of its own with two Jacory Harris touchdown passes including a 69-yarder to Travis Benjamin in the fourth quarter, and the Miami D came up with a score of its own with a 53-yard Marcus Robinson fumble return for a score. The two teams combined for seven turnovers, and Miami committed 11 penalties.
Player of the Game: Clemson RB C.J. Spiller ran 14 times for 81 yards, caught six passes for 104 yards and a score, and returned three kickoffs for 125 yards and a score.
Miami: Passing: Jacory Harris, 17-27, 256 yds, 2 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Graig Cooper, 17-99, Receiving: Leonard Hankerson, 5-87, 1 TD
Clemson: Passing: Kyle Parker, 25-37, 326 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: C.J. Spiller, 14-81, Receiving: C.J. Spiller, 6-104, 1 TD 
What It All Means: DeAndre McDaniel came up with two interceptions, Kyle Parker made the throw of his life, and C.J. Spiller was C.J. Spiller. It all came together in one big game that saved Clemson’s season and turned around the ACC title chase. Now, after beating Wake Forest and Miami over the last two weeks, Clemson is going on one of its patented hot streaks, and while this team is as flaky and inconsistent as any that Tommy Bowden used to coach, it appears to be peaking at the right time. Getting Coastal Carolina up next will allow the offense to tune up a little more before hosting Florida State.

Oct. 17
at Clemson 38 …. Wake Forest 3
C.J. Spiller tore off touchdown runs from 66 and 14 yards, and the defense swamped Wake Forest QB Riley Skinner for five sacks in a blowout win. The Tigers got up 17-0 helped by a one-yard Kyle Parker touchdown pass and a three-yard run before Wake Forest finally got on the board with a 28-yard Jimmy Newman field goals. Spiller answered on the next play from scrimmage with his long scoring dash. The two teams combined to convert just 7-of-27 third down chances.
Player of the Game: Clemson RB C.J. Spiller ran nine times for 106 yards and two touchdowns, and he caught two passes for six yards
Wake Forest: Passing: Riley Skinner, 11-24, 82 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Devon Brown, 3-22, Receiving: Willie Dixon, 8-35
Clemson: Passing: Kyle Parker, 10-17, 132 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: C.J. Spiller, 9-106, 2 TD, Receiving: Michael Palmer, 4-49, 1 TD
What It All Means: It’s so frustrating. When Clemson is inspired and focused, it can play as well as well as any team in the ACC. So why doesn’t it play at a high level every week? The defense was all over Riley Skinner and the Wake Forest backfield, while the offense took advantage of good field position and two big runs from C.J. Spiller to win in a walk. The ACC Atlantic is the far weaker of the two divisions, and now, with this win over the Demon Deacons, it’s there for the taking. Clemson already has a win over BC, and while a trip to Miami is up next, if the Tigers can win their final three conference games (Florida State, at NC State, and Virginia), they’ll win the division. 

Oct. 3
at Maryland 24 … Clemson 21
Clemson jumped out to a 10-0 lead helped by a 17-yard Jacoby Ford touchdown run, and then Maryland took over as the defense kept the Tigers out of the end zone while Chris Turner and the Terp offense got hot. Turner connected with Torrey Smith for a 29-yard touchdown and on a four-yarder to Ronnie Tyler in the final 4:32 of the first half, and Davin Meggett ran for a one-yard score in the third for what would turn out to be the game-winner. C.J. Spiller answered with a kickoff return for a touchdown, but the Tigers couldn’t get back on the board.
Player of the Game: Maryland LB Demetrius Hartfield made ten tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.
Clemson: Passing: Kyle Parker, 20-37, 180 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: C.J. Spiller, 18-72, Receiving: Michael Palmer, 5-65
Maryland: Passing: Chris Turner, 19-26, 215 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Davin Meggett, 10-27, 1 TD, Receiving: Ronnie Tyler, 5-39, 1 TD
What It All Means: This was as disastrous a loss as they come with the offense struggling to generate enough of a passing game to offset the struggling ground attack. Maryland loaded up on C.J> Spiller, and Kyle Parker couldn’t get the ball deep to loosen things up. Converting on third downs was a problem hitting on just 4-of-16 chances, but that wasn’t the only problem. Clemson had its chances to take over the game, but it didn’t produce. At 2-3 and with Coastal Carolina coming up in a few weeks, the season is still salvageable, but a loss to Wake Forest next week, with a trip to Miami to follow, would all but end bowl hopes.

Sept. 26
TCU 14 … at Clemson 10
TCU bent, but didn’t break often allowing a one-yard C.J. Spiller touchdown run and a 26-yard field goal in the first half. The defense held on late as a final Clemson drive fizzled, and then the BCS talk kicked in. Andy Dalton connected with Curtis Clay on a six-yard touchdown pass, and he gave TCU the lead for good with a 25-yard scoring play to Antoine Hicks. On the plus side for Clemson, Spiller became the second player, along with Reggie Bush, to run for 2,500 yards, return 1,500 yards of kickoffs, catch 1,000 yards of passes, and return punts for 500 yards.
Player of the Game: TCU QB Andy Dalton completed 17-of-26 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran 19 times for 86 yards.
Clemson: Passing: Kyle Parker, 17-37, 192 yds
Rushing: C.J. Spiller, 26-112, 1 TD, Receiving: Jacoby Ford, 6-55
TCU: Passing: Andy Dalton, 17-26, 226 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Andy Dalton, 19-86, Receiving: Jeremy Kerley, 5-63 
What It All Means: Someday, Clemson will be the big-time program it so desperately wants to be. TCU’s defense is for real, but the Tigers have the speed and athleticism to do far more. The problem, especially after the quarterback battle of the offseason, is that the passing attack isn’t producing. Kyle Parker was hounded all game long, but he struggled with his accuracy when he got his chances. C.J. Spiller was the lone playmaker, and he showed what a weapon he is when he’s relatively healthy. As disappointing as this was, the important game is next with a trip to Maryland coming up to keep the ACC season going. The loss to TCU was bad, but losing to a woeful Terp team would be disastrous.

Sept. 19
at Clemson 25 … Boston College 7
The game was delayed by lightning and rain, but it was the Clemson defense, along with C.J. Spiller, that was the big problem for BC. He returned a punt 77 yards for a touchdown to start out the scoring, and then it was all Richard Jackson as the Tiger kicker connected on six field goals from 23, 33, 32, 52, 42 and 35 yards away. Boston College managed a 13-yard Justin Jarvis touchdown catch in the third quarter, but that was all the fun it would have with just 54 yards of total offense and four first downs.
Player of the Game: Clemson RB C.J. Spiller ran 17 times for 77 yards, returned a kickoff 27 yards, and returned three punts for 119 yards and a score.
Boston College: Passing: Justin Tuggle, 4-20, 23, yds, 1 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Justin Tuggle, 5-21, Receiving: Lars Anderson, 2-10
Clemson: Passing: Kyle Parker, 13-27, 103 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: C.J. Spiller, 17-77, Receiving: Jacoby Ford, 6-36
What It All Means: The Clemson defense was fantastic in the sloppy conditions, but there has to be a huge concern that C.J. Spiller just can’t be counted on. The passing game was inconsistent in the rain, and no one else helped pick up the rushing slack. Making matters worse was an inability to get into the end zone. This should’ve been an easier blowout win, worse than it actually was, but several drives that should’ve been touchdowns turned into field goals. Against NC State next week, the offense has to convert its chances into seven.

Sept. 10
at Georgia Tech 30 .... Clemson 27
Scott Blair connected on his third field goal of the game, hitting it from 36 yards out, to break the tie with less than a minute to play. Clemson's last-gasp drive fell short, but that was about the only thing that didn't go right in the second half for the Tigers. Tech dominated the first half with Anthony Allen starting out the scoring with an 82-yard touchdown run, and Jerrard Tarrant added an 85-yard punt return for a score. A fake field goal led to a Blair 34-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas for a 21-0 first quarter lead, but down 24-0, Clemson roared back with 27 straight points helped by a 63-yard C.J. Spiller scoring run and a 77-yard touchdown catch from Jacoby Ford. With the score tied late, struggling Tech QB Josh Nesbitt connected on two of the three passes he completed all night, with a key 39-yarder to Thomas, to help set up the game-winning field goal.
Player of the Game: Georgia Tech DE Derrick Morgan made ten tackles, three sacks, and four tackles for loss.
Clemson: Passing: Kyle Parker, 15-31, 261 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: C.J. Spiller, 20-87, Receiving: Jacoby Ford, 5-109, 1 TD
Georgia Tech: Passing: Josh Nesbitt, 3-14, 83 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Anthony Allen, 5-127, 1 TD, Receiving: Demaryius Thomas, 3-93, 1 TD
What It All Means: Clemson appeared to be doing everything right, but it still lost because it got tagged by a big run in the first quarter, a big punt return, and a fake field goal. While the Tigers gave up 301 rushing yards, 82 came on one play and the Yellow Jacket ground game was shut down in the second half. Meanwhile, Kyle Parker showed the upside that should make him the team's franchise quarterback for the next few years. He's under 50% on his completion percentage, but he throws a nice ball, is tough, and he appears ready to blossom and grow into the job. However, Clemson is going to be kicking itself that it couldn't come up with a win in a game it had there for the taking late. ... Instant Analysis - Ga Tech 30 ... Clemson 27 

Sept. 5
at Clemson 37 ... Middle Tennessee 14
Clemson had the game in hand from the opening kickoff with a C.J. Spiller 96-yard kickoff return for a score, but he ended up getting hurt on a later punt return but the rest of the team picked up the slack. Middle Tennessee got into the game on a 68-yard fumble return for a score from Chris McCoy, but the offense didn't get on the board until the third quarter on a 18-yard Chris McClover touchdown catch. By that time, Jacoby Ford put the game away with a 61-yard punt return for a score and a 43-yard touchdown grab.
Player of the Game: Clemson WR Jacoby Ford caught three passes for 70 yards and a score, and he returned three punts for 72 yards and a score and returned a kickoff 39 yards.
Clemson: Passing: Kyle Parker, 9-20, 159 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Jamie Harper, 15-75, Receiving: Jacoby Ford, 3-70, 1 TD
Middle Tennessee: Passing: Dwight Dasher, 20-42, 204 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Dwight Dasher, 19-61, Receiving: Shane Blissard, 4-68
What It All Means: Can C.J. Spiller do anything without getting hurt? He's such a dynamic playmaker that the coaching staff might have to shut him down altogether for the average games to save him for the big showdowns. Jacoby Ford provided the pop needed to make the Middle Tennessee game a laugher, but it's asking a lot to expect the same kinds of home runs against Georgia Tech. To beat the Yellow Jackets, QB Kyle Parker has to be much better; he was way too erratic.