Boyd, Clemson drive to victory

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

— Clemson got one more drive from Tajh Boyd and company to record its first 11-victory season since its 1981 national championship team.

And Tigers Coach Dabo Swinney thinks this is only the beginning.

Chandler Catanzaro kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired to give No. 14 Clemson a wild 25-24 victory over No. 8 LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on Monday night.

Trailing 24-22, Clemson (11-2) took possession on its 20 with 1:39 remaining. Boyd passed to DeAndre Hopkins for 26 yards on a fourth-and-16 play during the decisive 10-play drive.

Catanzaro’s kick set off awild celebration on the field and in the stands. Some players collapsed on the field in apparent disbelief while most of Clemson’s orange jerseys met in a midfield circle.

Clemson reached 11 victories for only the fourth time in school history and the first time since the 12-0 1981 team.

Catanzaro had an extra point blocked in the second quarter, but he said that didn’t cause him to doubt his chances to make the last-second field goal.

Catanzaro, a former walkon from Greenville, S.C., made 16 of 17 field goal attempts in the regular season.

Boyd completed 36 of 50 passes for 346 yards with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions. He set career highs for attempts and completions while winning the game MVP award.

Hopkins, who had 13 catches for 191 yards and 2 touchdowns, also had receptions for 7 and 13 yards in the final drive. LSU safety Greg Reid was flagged for pass interference while defending Hopkins.

Jeremy Hill ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns for LSU (10-3), which carried a 24-13 lead into the final quarter.

After Hopkins’ second touchdown catch, LSU got the ball with 2:43 remaining and threw three consecutivepasses. Only one was complete in the three-and-out series that took only about one minute off the clock, leaving Clemson with enough time for its winning drive against LSU’s exhausted defense.

Hill did not have a carry in the fourth quarter.

LSU’s three passes allowed Swinney to save his timeouts.

Boyd said having 1:39 to stage the final drive “is like having 10, 15 minutes for us.”

“When I saw that clock and that we had three timeouts I said ‘Let’s get it.”’

LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger was sacked six times and completed 14 of 23 passes for 120 yards. He also threw for a touchdown and an interception.

Sports, Pages 17 on 01/02/2013