St. Francisco
45-35 Never Forget
WEEK THIRTEEN
#14 CLEMSON TIGERS (8-2, 6-2)
VS.
#19 TEXAS LONGHORNS (6-4, 4-3)
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#14 CLEMSON TIGERS (8-2, 6-2)
VS.
#19 TEXAS LONGHORNS (6-4, 4-3)
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In a tale of two teams headed in opposite direction, the 19th ranked Longhorns lost their third straight game at home this season, falling to #14 Clemson by 21 points. Meanwhile, the Tigers clinched their third straight Big XII east title with a 7-2 conference record, and got their revenge after back-to-back losses against Texas in the conference championship game the past two seasons. Despite being outgained in total yardage, the Tigers easily won the game thanks to a defense that recorded three interceptions, and returned two of them for touchdowns in a commanding 38-17 victory on Saturday.
Clemson's defense got all of the attention following the game, but their offense certainly contributed to the win as well. Junior quarterback Chad Kelly completed 18 of 30 passes for 242 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. His go-to man was junior Adam Bailey, who had 11 catches for 138 yards. As for the ground game, runningbacks Tyler Levine and Zac Brooks led the effort, combining for 108 yards and two touchdowns off 18 carries for an average of six yards per touch. But it was senior defensive players B.J. Goodson (MLB) and Ronald Geohaghan (FS) who received the most press as each player recorded an interception and returned it for a touchdown. Goodson recorded seven tackles and went 36 yards for a score with just five seconds left on the clock in the first half to extend Clemson's lead to 21-10, while Geohaghan went 77 yards in the fourth quarter to effectively seal the win. Senior cornerback Cortez Davis also recorded a pick, and had eight tackles as well. Despite allowing 413 total offensive yards, the Tigers stepped up where it mattered the most, limiting the Longhorns to just 17 points in five redzone trips, and allowing only five successful conversion on thirteen 3rd down attempts. With a third straight trip to the Big XII title game already clinched, Clemson will be looking for state bragging rights when they hit the road to face off against SEC rival South Carolina (5-5, 4-4) in their regular season finale next week.
On the other side of the ball, sophomore quarterback Daniel Pratt had a rough day under center to say the least, completing 16 of 30 passes for 187 yards and throwing three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns. Pratt also rushed for 82 yards and a score off 15 carries. Leading the way in the receiving corps was junior Cayleb Jones, who had eleven catches for 111 yards. Jones is quietly having one of the most productive years for a wide receiver at Texas since the change at head coach in 2012, and needs just 96 yards in the regular season finale to set a new record for most receiving yards in a single season in the Applewhite era. On the ground, Jonathan Gray led the team with 101 yards off 21 carries, and backup runningback Daje Johnson added five carries for eleven yards and a touchdown. Texas' defense recorded two sacks, one interception, and allowed just two successful conversions on eight 3rd down attempts, but they also allowed 387 total offensive yards and 24 points in four redzone trips for Clemson's offense. Also, the team lost starting offensive guard Curtis Riser for the rest of the year with a broken tailbone, putting him on the bench alongside starting left tackle Kennedy Estelle. Second-year freshman Andrew Chapman will take his place in the starting lineup.
It's clear now that the mystique of DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium is a distant memory for this season, and the team has dropped out of the top 25 for the first time in 2015 after their third loss in the last four weeks, so nothing is guaranteed when the Longhorns host #8 TCU (8-3, 5-3) in their regular season finale next week. Just like Texas, the Horned Frogs rely on their outstanding running game to lead the offense. Senior runningback Aaron Green is 2nd in the nation with 1,509 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns for an average of 7.1 yards per carry this season, and is the current favorite to take home the Heisman trophy at the end of the year. TCU also ranks 27th in total defense and has a +8 turnover differential, which is a far cry from Texas' 76th defensive ranking.
<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /><link href="http://dynasties.operationsports.com/css/osdyn.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"></head><body><table cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" class="osdyn" width="575"><tr class="masthead"><td align="center" colspan="6">#14 Clemson Tigers at #19 Texas Longhorns</td></tr><tr class="stathead"><td width="48%">Nov 21, 2015</td><td align="right" width="10%">1ST</td><td align="right" width="10%">2ND</td><td align="right" width="10%">3RD</td><td align="right" width="10%">4TH</td><td align="right" width="12%">SCORE</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>#14 Clemson Tigers (9-2, 7-2)</td><td align="right">7</td><td align="right">14</td><td align="right">10</td><td align="right">7</td><td align="right" class="active">38</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>#19 Texas Longhorns (6-5, 4-4)</td><td align="right">7</td><td align="right">3</td><td align="right">7</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right" class="active">17</td></tr></table><table cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" class="osdyn spacer" width="575"><tr class="masthead"><td colspan="3">Team Stats Comparison</td></tr><tr class="stathead"><td width="60%"></td><td align="center" width="20%">CLEM</td><td align="center" width="20%">TEX</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td align="center">Total Offense</td><td align="center">387</td><td align="center">413</td></tr><tr class="evenrow"><td align="center">Rushing Yards</td><td align="center">145</td><td align="center">226</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td align="center">Passing Yards</td><td align="center">242</td><td align="center">187</td></tr><tr class="evenrow"><td align="center">First Downs</td><td align="center">20</td><td align="center">29</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td align="center">Punt Return Yards</td><td align="center">14</td><td align="center">19</td></tr><tr class="evenrow"><td align="center">Kick Return Yards</td><td align="center">74</td><td align="center">181</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td align="center">Total Yards</td><td align="center">475</td><td align="center">613</td></tr><tr class="evenrow"><td align="center">Turnovers</td><td align="center">1</td><td align="center">3</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td align="center">3rd Down Converstion</td><td align="center">2-8 (25%)</td><td align="center">5-13 (38%)</td></tr><tr class="evenrow"><td align="center">4th Down Conversion</td><td align="center">0-0 (0%)</td><td align="center">2-2 (100%)</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td align="center">2-Point Conversion</td><td align="center">0-0 (0%)</td><td align="center">0-0 (0%)</td></tr><tr class="evenrow"><td align="center">Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals</td><td align="center">4-3-1 (100%)</td><td align="center">5-2-1 (60%)</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td align="center">Penalties</td><td align="center">11-74</td><td align="center">12-96</td></tr><tr class="evenrow"><td align="center">Posession Time</td><td align="center">26:16</td><td align="center">33:44</td></tr></table></body></html>
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