Embarrassing loss to Pack leaves Tigers with soul-searching to do |
by David Hood
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Senior Writer
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Sat Nov 19 20:59:16 GMT-04:00 2011
RALEIGH, N.C. – The national pundits and media all put Clemson on upset alert this week, but Clemson players and coaches spent the week saying there was no chance for a letdown against a North Carolina St. team still trying to get to a bowl game.
Pundits, 1, Tigers 0.
The North Carolina St. Wolfpack defeated the Tigers 37-13 in a game in which Clemson looked overmatched, out-motivated and out-gunned for most of a four quarter collapse on national television that will certainly leave many nationally wondering how a team that is supposed to play for a conference championship in two weeks could look so…bad.
Clemson head coach
Dabo Swinney
Dabo Swinney
Head Coach
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said following the game that there were no excuses.
“We are obviously disappointed in the way we played,” Swinney said. “Really embarrassed. Really poor job of coaching, poor job playing, really everything involved and there’s no excuse. They wanted it more than we did and it’s that simple. This is the game of football, and to do the things we did, most times you’re going to get beat. Especially with a team that grabs the momentum, and that’s what happened. They got the momentum and we never got it back.”
Left tackle
Phillip Price
Phillip Price
RS Sr. Offensive Tackle
#79 6-5, 315
Dillon, SC
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and receiver
Sammy Watkins
Sammy Watkins
Fr. Wide Receiver
#2 6-1, 200
Fort Myers, FL
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each missed the game with injuries, and Price was missed as much or even more than Watkins as the left tackle spot gave up multiple sacks, was responsible for two critical holding calls and countless pressures of quarterback
Tajh Boyd
Tajh Boyd
RS So. Quarterback
#10 6-1, 225
Hampton, VA
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.
Swinney was asked if he was surprised that the Tigers missed Price so much.
“No. Not at all,” Swinney said. “He has been one of our best and most consistent players, and we really missed him out there tonight. And we missed Sammy. But this team has more players than just one or two – we have a lot of very good football players. We just looked like an immature team out there tonight. That’s really it in a nutshell. It’s not anything more complicated than that.”
North Carolina State came in as a five-win team, with just three of those wins coming against FBS series teams, but made the Tigers look like an FCS team for most of the evening. The Pack came in averaging around 100 yards per game on the ground, and wound up with 140 yards on 40 time-consuming carries. Quarterback Mike Glennon, who had looked pedestrian for most of the season, completed 19-of-29 passes for 253 yards and three scores as the Pack ground out over 400 yards of total offense.
The Tigers also had four turnovers – two fumbles and two Boyd interceptions – that contributed to the malaise on an evening where a victory might have seen the Tigers climb into the top six in the BCS polls.
Most damaging was a 27-point second quarter that saw the Pack start drives at the Clemson 18-yard line (following a
Mike Bellamy
Mike Bellamy
Fr. Running Back
#5 5-10, 175
Nocatee, FL
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fumble), the Clemson six-yard line (following a Tajh Boyd fumble) and the Clemson 11-yard line (following a 34-yard punt return by T.J. Graham). Once the dust had settled after those three drives, the Pack had a 24-3 lead and the Tigers would never recover.
“That is now 11 turnovers for us in three weeks,” Swinney said. “You can’t have that many turnovers [Clemson had four on the afternoon] and expect to win football games. We just aren’t taking care of the football. We put our defense in some bad situations there, and it’s all because we didn’t take care of the football. That is probably what is most disappointing to me.”
Instead, the Tigers now have to return home and figure out if the problems can be fixed in time for next Saturday’s trip to Columbia against the arch-rival South Carolina Gamecocks.
Right tackle
Landon Walker
Landon Walker
Gr. Offensive Tackle
#72 6-6, 305
North Wilkesboro, NC
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said his job as a team leader is to get his teammates ready to play next Saturday, but thinks there needs to be some soul-searching first.
“There won’t be a lot said on that bus tonight,” Walker said. “No disrespect to them [N.C. State], but they are an inferior team to us and we just let them beat us. That is the most embarrassing loss I have ever been a part of – college, high school, middle school, whatever. Embarrassing. That should never happen. We have to sit back and think about what happened. We have to do some soul-searching, and then come back ready to play this week.”
Tight end
Brandon Ford
Brandon Ford
RS Jr. Tight End
#80 6-4, 235
Wando, SC
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said he and his teammates need to stop being complacent and take all opponents seriously.
“We have to come together and fix the things we are doing,” Ford said. “That includes taking care of the ball. Guys have to stop giggling and stuff, and take the game seriously no matter who we play. Whether it is against Florida St. or N.C. State, we need to come to work every day and treat every game the same. We have to put our season back together. I am not pointing fingers at anybody – this is a team effort. And we didn’t play up to our standards today. We have a lot left to play for next week.”
Date: Nov 19, 2011 Site: Raleigh, N.C. Stadium: Carter-Finley
Attendance: 57583
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Clemson............. 3 0 3 7 - 13
NC State............ 0 27 10 0 - 37
Scoring Summary:
1st 06:50 CU - Chandler Catanzaro 24 yd field goal
8 plays, 32 yards, TOP 2:17, CU 3 - ST 0
2nd 11:35 ST - George Bryan 11 yd pass from Mike Glennon (Niklas Sade kick)
7 plays, 61 yards, TOP 3:08, CU 3 - ST 7
10:33 ST - Jay Smith 7 yd pass from Mike Glennon (Niklas Sade kick)
2 plays, 6 yards, TOP 0:45, CU 3 - ST 14
07:26 ST - Niklas Sade 21 yd field goal
5 plays, 14 yards, TOP 1:43, CU 3 - ST 17
04:58 ST - Tony Creecy 4 yd run (Niklas Sade kick)
2 plays, 11 yards, TOP 0:44, CU 3 - ST 24
00:05 ST - Niklas Sade 32 yd field goal
8 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:37, CU 3 - ST 27
3rd 10:18 ST - Niklas Sade 21 yd field goal
9 plays, 55 yards, TOP 3:01, CU 3 - ST 30
08:44 CU - Chandler Catanzaro 32 yd field goal
7 plays, 54 yards, TOP 1:24, CU 6 - ST 30
05:41 ST - Tobais Palmer 43 yd pass from Mike Glennon (Niklas Sade kick)
6 plays, 85 yards, TOP 2:57, CU 6 - ST 37
4th 01:22 CU - Mike Bellamy 2 yd run (Chandler Catanzaro kick)
8 plays, 68 yards, TOP 1:13, CU 13 - ST 37
Kickoff time: 3:36 pm End of Game: 6:55 Total elapsed time: 3:19
Officials: Referee: Tom Zimorski; Umpire: David Goodwin; Linesman: Mike Pavese;
Line judge: Allen Andrick; Back judge: Tim Cobb; Field judge: Chris Brown;
Side judge: Jim Corpora; Scorer: Roger Warren;
Temperature: 58 Wind: SSE 5mph Weather: Partly Cloudy
CU ST
FIRST DOWNS................... 18 22
Rushing..................... 4 9
Passing..................... 13 11
Penalty..................... 1 2
NET YARDS RUSHING............. 34 145
Rushing Attempts............ 28 45
Average Per Rush............ 1.2 3.2
Rushing Touchdowns.......... 1 1
Yards Gained Rushing........ 83 172
Yards Lost Rushing.......... 49 27
NET YARDS PASSING............. 303 253
Completions-Attempts-Int.... 25-41-2 19-29-0
Average Per Attempt......... 7.4 8.7
Average Per Completion...... 12.1 13.3
Passing Touchdowns.......... 0 3
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS........... 337 398
Total offense plays......... 69 74
Average Gain Per Play....... 4.9 5.4
Fumbles: Number-Lost.......... 3-2 0-0
Penalties: Number-Yards....... 5-42 2-30
PUNTS-YARDS................... 7-320 8-300
Average Yards Per Punt...... 45.7 37.5
Net Yards Per Punt.......... 31.9 34.6
Inside 20................... 0 3
50+ Yards................... 2 0
Touchbacks.................. 3 1
Fair catch.................. 2 5
KICKOFFS-YARDS................ 3-206 8-459
Average Yards Per Kickoff... 68.7 57.4
Net Yards Per Kickoff....... 50.7 41.8
Touchbacks.................. 1 0
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD. 2-3-0 2-37-0
Average Per Return.......... 1.5 18.5
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD 8-125-0 2-34-0
Average Per Return.......... 15.6 17.0
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD.. 0-0-0 2-0-0
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD. 0-0-0 1-4-0
Miscellaneous Yards........... 0 0
Possession Time............... 23:31 36:29
1st Quarter................. 5:26 9:34
2nd Quarter................. 6:03 8:57
3rd Quarter................. 6:42 8:18
4th Quarter................. 5:20 9:40
Third-Down Conversions........ 2 of 14 5 of 15
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 1 of 3 0 of 0
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 3-5 6-6
Touchdowns.................. 1-5 3-6
Field goals................. 2-5 3-6
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 2-12 6-38
PAT Kicks..................... 1-1 4-4
Field Goals................... 2-2 3-3
Individual Statistics
Clemson
Rushing No Gain Loss Net TD Lg Avg
-------------------------------------------------
Andre Ellington 9 33 5 28 0 15 3.1
D.J. Howard 1 13 0 13 0 13 13.0
Mike Bellamy 7 15 4 11 1 9 1.6
Cole Stoudt 1 0 8 -8 0 0 -8.0
Tajh Boyd 10 22 32 -10 0 12 -1.0
Totals... 28 83 49 34 1 15 1.2
Passing Cmp-Att-Int Yds TD Long Sack
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Tajh Boyd 21-34-2 238 0 43 5
Cole Stoudt 4-7-0 65 0 50 1
Totals... 25-41-2 303 0 50 6
Receiving No. Yds TD Long
----------------------------------------
DeAndre Hopkins 5 124 0 43
Brandon Ford 5 77 0 50
Adam Humphries 4 48 0 18
Dwayne Allen 3 18 0 16
Andre Ellington 3 12 0 9
Joe Craig 2 10 0 13
Jaron Brown 1 16 0 16
Mike Bellamy 1 0 0 0
D.J. Howard 1 -2 0 0
Totals... 25 303 0 50
Punting No. Yds Avg Long In20 TB
---------------------------------------------------
Dawson Zimmerman 7 320 45.7 59 0 3
Totals... 7 320 45.7 59 0 3
Punts Kickoffs Intercept
All Returns No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg
--------------------------------------------------
DeAndre Hopkins 2 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jaron Brown 0 0 0 6 118 30 0 0 0
Charone Peake 0 0 0 1 9 9 0 0 0
Mansa Joseph 0 0 0 1 -2 0 0 0 0
Totals... 2 3 3 8 125 30 0 0 0
Field goal attempts
----------------------------------------
Chandler Catanzaro 1st 06:50 24 yds - Good
Chandler Catanzaro 3rd 08:44 32 yds - Good
Kickoffs No. Yds TB OB Avg
---------------------------------------
Benton 3 206 1 0 68.7
NC State
Rushing No Gain Loss Net TD Lg Avg
-------------------------------------------------
James Washington 22 94 8 86 0 23 3.9
Tony Creecy 15 68 3 65 1 10 4.3
Curtis Underwood 3 9 0 9 0 4 3.0
TEAM 2 0 4 -4 0 0 -2.0
Mike Glennon 3 1 12 -11 0 1 -3.7
Totals... 45 172 27 145 1 23 3.2
Passing Cmp-Att-Int Yds TD Long Sack
-------------------------------------------------
Mike Glennon 19-29-0 253 3 43 2
Totals... 19-29-0 253 3 43 2
Receiving No. Yds TD Long
----------------------------------------
T.J. Graham 4 54 0 24
James Washington 4 44 0 22
Tobais Palmer 3 82 1 43
George Bryan 3 35 1 19
Tony Creecy 2 16 0 10
Quintin Payton 1 17 0 17
Jay Smith 1 7 1 7
Bryan Underwood 1 -2 0 0
Totals... 19 253 3 43
Punting No. Yds Avg Long In20 TB
---------------------------------------------------
Wil Baumann 8 300 37.5 44 3 1
Totals... 8 300 37.5 44 3 1
Punts Kickoffs Intercept
All Returns No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg
--------------------------------------------------
T.J. Graham 2 37 34 2 34 19 0 0 0
Brandan Bishop 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
David Amerson 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Totals... 2 37 34 2 34 19 2 0 0
Field goal attempts
----------------------------------------
Niklas Sade 2nd 07:26 21 yds - Good
Niklas Sade 2nd 00:05 32 yds - Good
Niklas Sade 3rd 10:18 21 yds - Good
Kickoffs No. Yds TB OB Avg
---------------------------------------
Sade, N. 8 459 0 0 57.4
FUMBLES: Clemson-Tajh Boyd 1-1; Mike Bellamy 1-1; Brandon Ford 1-0.
NC State-None.
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