Tigers "Self-Implode" Against Terps, 20-17 |
It's too simple to say another Clemson team showed up for the second half Saturday. Clemson left the field after the first half to the roar of a Death Valley crowd that appreciated a hard-hitting, if not somewhat error-prone, team that took a 17-6 lead into halftime. A similar effort in the second half should have been enough to put away Maryland. Unfortunately for the Tigers' fans, the same Clemson team and a different Maryland team showed up in the second half as the Terps scored 14 unanswered points and erase an 11-point deficit on the way to a 20-17 win at Death Valley that was silent for much of the second half. Tommy Bowden admitted that Maryland made adjustments at halftime that were crucial to the Terrapins' success. "They came out of the locker room with defensive adjustments and they capitalized on that," said Bowden. A change in the defensive front caused the Tiger running backs to spend more time searching for holes. James Davis and C.J. Spiller combined for 189 yards in the first half. Davis had a touchdown run of 38 yards and Spiller had a 35-yard touchdown run. In the second half, they combined for less than 50 yards. The mistakes also hurt more than they had in the first half. A long run to the endzone by Spiller was called back on a holding penalty. On the play that sealed the game for the Terps, Bowden called on quarterback Cullen Harper, instead of one of his running backs, to attempt a sneak on fourth-and-1. He came up short and Maryland was able to run out the remaining four minutes of the game. "In the first half we were slanting a lot," said Maryland coach Ralph Fridgen. "We were playing more of a shade. We came back after halftime and played more of straight up defense. We tried to disguise our coverages because they were doing a good job of reading them. We took blocks one-on-one. Davis and Spiller are really good backs. All they need is a crease and they gain yardage." Fridgen also kept Clemson's defense off balance. Maryland's Darrius Heyward-Bey carried the ball 76 yards on a reverse midway through the third quarter. Torrey Smith caught a six-yard pass from Chris Turner for a touchdown two plays later. "They were bringing the backside linebackers and their defensive end," said Fridgen. "So, then we started running reverses." Turner completed three passes for 43 yards to Danny Oquendo on Maryland's other scoring drive of the half. Da'Rel Scott scored on a 1-yard run with 10:25 left in the game to put Maryland up 20-17. Clemson's next drive ended on Harper's failed attempt on fourth-and-1 at the Maryland 40 and the Terps were able to run out the clock. "We self-imploded today," said Bowden. "We had critical points in the game where we made mistakes, especially with penalties and fumbles. We didn't play sharp today and that was the reason we lost." Clemson has next week off to think about the season that now stands at 3-2 and 1-1 in the ACC. "Coming into the bye week with a loss is always tough, but we've got to use it as motivation," said Harper. "We've got to get better this next week in practice and prepare for a good Wake Forest team."
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