ESPN's top-60 best games of 2000s feature three with Clemson |
ESPN ranked the top-60 best games in college football since the turn of the century this week and Clemson was
a part of three of those matchups ($).
That's led by the Tigers' classic Fiesta Bowl battle with Ohio State in 2019 at No. 18 overall, where Nolan Turner's interception clinched a 29-23 win and a trip to a second consecutive national championship game. "We haven't gotten many great semifinal games in the CFP era," Bill Connelly wrote, "but this one was spectacular. Ohio State dominated the first 25 minutes, but a run of field goals meant the Buckeyes led only 16-0. Clemson scored twice in 95 seconds -- including once on a 67-yard Trevor Lawrence run -- to make it 16-14 at halftime. Travis Etienne scored to give Clemson the lead with 1:49 remaining, but the Buckeyes were positioned to take the lead back until Nolan Turner picked off a Justin Fields pass in the end zone with 37 seconds left. The 2019 season produced three nearly perfect teams, but one had to bow out before the finals." Also in the top-25 are the back-to-back national title throwdowns with Alabama in 2016 (23) and 2017 (22), with Clemson's last-second thriller win over the Crimson Tide in Tampa, where Deshaun Watson connected with Hunter Renfrow for the game-winning score at the goal line:
No. 1 on the list is the classic Rose Bowl when Texas topped USC, 41-38.
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