Hill Watch...8 days!!!

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8 years ago, 2014: Malaysia Airlines makes world news twice,

Aug 28, 2022, 11:43 AM

as MH Flight 370 disappears without a trace in March, and MH Flight 17 is shot down by a surface to air missile near the Ukrainian border later in the year. There is a deadly Ebola outbreak in Africa that kills over 6,000 people. There is border fighting in Ukraine and Crimea, which in restrospect, is just a foreshadowing of current events.

Heightened tensions following the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens led to an exchange of rocket fire, resulting in a formal Israeli offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip called Operation Protective Edge. The United Nations reported that 2,192 people were killed in the Gaza Strip, the majority of whom were civilians. A new terror group first appears on the scene, one that is so extreme, even al Qaeda tries to distance themselves from it. Known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, it is called ISIS.

The ACC Football Champions for 2014 were the No. 5 (8-0, 13-1) FSU Seminoles. They defeated No. 11 Georgia Tech 37-35 in the ACC Championship game to take the title. This moved them up to No. 3 in the nation. But, they were dismantled 59-20 by No. 2 Oregon and Heisman Trophy QB Marcus Mariotta in the Rose Bowl to end their season. Georgia Tech would rebound to defeat No. 7 Mississippi State 49-34 in the Orange Bowl, to end their season ranked No. 8.

This was the 1st year of the College Football Playoffs, and the Rose Bowl was one of the two semifinal Playoff games. The other was the Sugar Bowl, where No. 4 Ohio State took out No. 1 Alabama by a score of 42-35. The Urban Meyer coached Ohio State Buckeyes would then defeat Oregon in the CFP National Championship Game by a score of 42-20. Urban Meyer joined Nick Saban as the only two coaches to ever win National Championships at two different schools in FBS football history.

2014 would be a year of rebuilding offensively for Clemson. Tajh Boyd was gone to the NFL, along with Sammy Watkins and Martavis Bryant. Sophomore Mike Williams would man one wideout spot, while Charone Peake got the other. Adam Humphries returned in the slot, but as time went on, he would share time with a talented true freshman named Artavis Scott. The QB to start the season would be Senior Cole Stoudt. But, waiting in the wings was a talented true freshman named Deshaun Watson, who was the Top Rated Dual Threat QB recruit in the nation. Clemson had been recruiting Watson since the 8th grade, and he was finally on campus and poised to do great things. But, he had suffered an injury in the spring, and this had put him behind somewhat to start the season.

Just as in 2013, Clemson kicked things off with the No. 12 Georgia Bulldogs. This time, the game would be in Athens. It would also mark the first game for Brent Venables as Defensive Coordinator for the Tigers. Unfortunately for him, and Clemson, this game would turn into “The Todd Gurley Show”, as the future NFL back ran wild on the Tigers.

Clemson started off the game with a fine drive of 12 plays, 70 yards, with a DJ Howard 1 yard TD run, to take a 7-0 lead with the Ammon Lakip PAT. The teams exchanged punts, then, the Dawgs only took 1:13 to score the next time, as Gurley broke out on a 23 yard TD run, game tied 7-7. On Clemson's next possession, Mike Williams had two rare drops in a row, and the Tigers had to punt. Clemson was twice flagged for pass interference on this Georgia possession, but got a replay review fumble recovery at the Clemson 10, to stop the drive. But, the Dawg defense forced a quick punt.

Todd Gurley was featured again several times on this possession for the Dawgs, and with one completed pass to the tight end thrown in, Georgia cashed in from the 2, on a QB sneak, to lead 14-7. On the next Clemson possession, we got our first look at Deshaun Watson, as he trotted onto the field to begin this drive. After an incompletion, Watson found Mike Williams on a perfect over the shoulder sideline route, and followed that up with a 30 yard laser to Charone Peake up the middle for the TD, to once again tie the game.

Clemson forced another Georgia punt, and Cole Stoudt found Artavis Scott for a long gainer on 3rd down to set up Clemson on the Georgia 28. A PI and a couple of Cole Stoudt runs got Clemson a 4th and inches on the Georgia 2, and Stoudt got the 1st down on a second effort run to the 1. After a couple of miscues, CJ Davidson hurtled over the line airborne into the end zone to give Clemson a 21-14 lead. But, on the ensuing kickoff, here came that man. Todd Gurley took it 100 yards to paydirt to retie the game at 21-21.

The Dawg defense stopped us 3 and out, but, a roughing the passer gave us new life. But, their safety jumped the route for an interception later, and the Clemson defense had to come up big again. They did, forcing a 3 and out, and Clemson was driving on the last possession of the half, but the drive stalled at the Dawg 17, and Ammon Lakip pulled a 34 yard field goal attempt far left to end the threat. The Dawgs ran out the clock and the half, with this heavyweight bout tied at 21-21.

Georgia would get a field goal on the opening possession of the 2nd half to go up 24-21. From this point, there were seven consecutive punts that took the game into the 4th quarter. Finally, Georgia mounted a 6 play, 82 yard drive that was all running game, with Todd Gurley and Sony Michel taking turns getting big gains. Gurley took it the last 18 yards with 10:28 to go in the game, to push the Dawg lead out to 31-21. This was the end of the competitive part of the game, as the Georgia defense forced 3 and outs on the next three Clemson possessions, and scored a touchdown on each of the first two possessions, and ran out the clock on the last one, to turn the game into a 45-21 rout at the end.

No. 23 Clemson smoked a much smaller Bulldog in SC State the next week, by a score of 73-7 in the Valley. But then, on the road at Doak Campbell, with Jameis Winston serving a suspension for off the field shenanigans, we wasted a prime opportunity to put ourselves in the drivers seat in the ACC Atlantic Division, losing a 23-17 decision in OT.

We were forced to realize, to our chagrin, just what a consistent weapon Chandler Catanzaro had been, as a chip shot missed field goal by Ammon Lakip in the early portion of the game ultimately proved to be our undoing. Even with that, Clemson had a chance to win the game when we intercepted FSU on their 26 yard line with just over 2:00 to go. But, two plays later, CJ Davidson fumbled the possession away. FSU ran out the clock to get the game into OT, and we got zero points when we went for a first down on 4th and 1 at the FSU 16, as Adam Choice was tackled for no gain. FSU back Karlos Williams ran the ball twice on the FSU possession, with the second run netting the game winner. It was truly a bitter pill for the disappointed Tiger team to swallow. Deshaun Watson had pretty much taken over at QB during this game, but he would get his first official start the next week against North Carolina.

Six straight Clemson wins would follow, as the young Tiger team was growing up, and learning how to win close games when necessary. After two high scoring wins over North Carolina (50-35) and NC State (41-0) in Watson's first two games as the starter, the first of those close games would be with the Louisville Cardinals of Coach Bobby Petrino. Watson broke his hand in the 1st quarter, and Cole Stoudt had to take over the Clemson offense again for the next three games. THIS game would feature some special teams fireworks, with Adam Humphries getting a 72 yard punt return to start the scoring. Louisville would answer with a field goal to make the score 7-3, and after forcing a Tiger punt, they got a 5 play, 50 yard drive ending in a Dominique Brown 2 yard run for a TD to take the lead, 10-7.

After a subsequent Clemson punt pinned the Cards deep at their own 9 yard line, the Clemson defense rose up, and Grady Jarrett recovered a fumble in the end zone for a TD to regain the lead for the Tigers at 14-10. The 2nd half would feature three Ammon Lakip field goals, sandwiched around a 22 yard TD pass from Cards QB Will Gardner to wideout Eli Rogers, to make the score 23-17. Louisville would mount a potential game winning drive starting at their own 19 yard line, and a 73 yard Gardner to James Quick bomb gave the Cards a 1st and goal at the Clemson 8, with 1:08 to go. Another pass netted 7 of the 8 needed yards, but Clemson backed the Cards up to the two yard line on a running play. The Tiger defense would force incomplete passes on the next two downs, to pull out the 23-17 win. Clemson was beginning to learn how to win close games.

This was a good thing, because, now back in the rankings at No. 24, the next game at BC would be another nail biter. The Clemson offense under Cole Stoudt just did not have the zing it did behind Deshaun Watson, so Brent Venables defense was going to have to shoulder more of the load if the Tigers were to keep winning. They came through, as Clemson won a 17-13 decision, getting only 7 points in the entire 2nd half, but holding BC to 6. BC had the lead at 13-10 on the strength of those 6 points, before a 6 play, 82 yard Clemson drive was capped off by a 32 yard CJ Davidson run, to give Clemson back the lead at 17-13. BC mounted one last drive, and had a 1st down at the Clemson 26 with 3:25 to go. But, the Clemson defense rose up, and forced 4 straight incomplete passes to take over on downs, and run out the clock for the win.

Defense was the name of the game the next week as well, as the No. 21 Tigers took a 16-6 win over Syracuse in Death Valley. Wake Forest was a little easier, as the No. 19 Tigers prevailed 34-20 on the road. Deshaun Watson was back for the trip to Bobby Dodd to face No. 24 Georgia Tech. But, after a promising start to the game for the now No. 18 Tigers, Watson went down again, this time with a knee injury, and Cole Stoudt had to take over for the last three quarters of the game. The Clemson offense never found the spark, and the Jackets prevailed easily, 28-6. After a workmanlike 28-0 win over Georgia State, the now No. 23 Tigers prepared to welcome the South Carolina Gamecocks to Death Valley.

The Gamecock's bubble had finally burst this season, and they sat at 6-5 going into the game. But, their fans remained supremely confident, saying that they had permanently “put Clemson in their rear view mirror.” Several photos were circulating around, where sly young Coot fans had posed for pictures with Coach Dabo Swinney, surreptitiously flashing their “five bomb” signal while they smiled for the camera. With his knee injury, it was doubtful that Deshaun Watson would even play in the game, just giving already delirious Coot fans even more delight.

But, Watson had made a personal vow to himself that Clemson would not lose to South Carolina on his watch, and that fanbase was about to find out just how far he would go to keep that promise. He strapped on a bulky knee brace, and proclaimed himself ready to go. Dylan Thompson was now the starting QB for South Carolina, replacing the now graduated Connor Shaw. Thompson had beaten Clemson two years prior, as a fill-in starter when Shaw was out with and injury, and he was more than confident in his abilities.

South Carolina got the ball first, and their offense ground to a halt on the Clemson 37, with a great punt being downed on the Clemson 3 yard line. The Tigers drove it out of there, but a 5 play, 68 yard drive netted nothing when Ammon Lakip missed a field goal. The Gamecocks hit paydirt on the next possession, with Pharoh Cooper covering the last 20 yards, as they led 7-0. Clemson immediately struck back, as Watson gave Artavis Scott an end around “handoff pass”, which Scott proceeded to take 53 yards for a touchdown, game tied 7-7.

The teams exchanged punts, and then, on 3rd down from the Gamecock 36, the Clemson defense flushed Thompson, who fumbled, setting us up with a short field. Three plays later, Clemson had the lead after Wayne Gallman covered all 36 yards on consecutive runs, and Clemson led 14-7. After a 3 and out, Clemson's offense took over again, and Watson culminated a 10 play, 61 yard drive with a one yard run himself, for a 21-7 Tiger lead. After another forced punt, Clemson took over again, but Watson was forced out of the game temporarily with knee or knee brace problems, and a Cole Stoudt pass was intercepted by Skai Moore, who returned it to the Clemson 41 yard line.

From there, the Carolina offense only netted 11 yards in 7 plays, settling for a 47 yard Elliot Fry field goal, to trim Clemson's lead to 21-10 with 3 seconds left in the half. Clemson downed the ball to head to the locker room leading by that score. The 2nd half opened up with a Clemson punt, a Carolina punt, another Clemson punt, a missed Carolina field goal, before Clemson once again began to move the ball, with Deshaun Watson back in the game. When I say “began to move”, I mean that it was a 1 play, 70 yard pass play to Artavis Scott, who even stomped on a Coot defenders hand on the sideline for good measure on his way to the end zone. Clemson now led 28-10.

South Carolina drove it down the field on their next possession, gaining a 1st and goal at the Clemson 2 yard line. But, the Tiger defense rose up, and when South Carolina failed to score on 4th and goal, Jimmy Greenbeans almost went crazy with delight on the Clemson sideline. The Gamecock defense held on the ensuing Clemson possession, and a 13 yard Pharoh Cooper punt return set up South Carolina on the Clemson 39. But, Clemson played defense too, and when Carolina again went for it on 4th down, Dylan Thompson was stuffed for no gain at the Clemson 30.

After forcing another Clemson punt, South Carolina went on a 7 play, 88 yard drive, ending with a Dylan Thompson pass to Damiere Byrd for 12 yds and the TD, to pull within 28-17. But, any Coot dreams of a late comeback were dashed on Clemson's next possession, as Watson led the Tigers on a 9 play, 75 yard TD drive that consumed over 5 minutes of the remaining 7:45, running it in himself for the score to push the Clemson lead back to 35-17. And, there it would remain, as the clock ran out for South Carolina's winning streak with the Gamecocks just over midfield. Order had finally been restored. It would be revealed after the game that Deshaun Watson had played the entire game with a torn ACL, for which he would have surgery the next week, ending his season. Clemson leads the series 70-42-4.

Clemson would head to the Russell Athletic Bowl, to face an 8-4 Oklahoma team that had just gotten knocked out of the rankings by a rare loss to Oklahoma State at “Bedlam”. Even though Clemson was ranked No. 18, the Las Vegas betting houses had the game as a “Pick'em”, mostly because of the absence of Deshaun Watson. Oklahoma had Trevor Knight at QB, and still had a very good running back in Samaje Perine, a future NFL receiver in Sterling Shepard, and 5 other players that would be picked in the 2015 NFL Draft.

But, Clemson had six 2015 NFL draftees of our own, including Grady Jarrett, Vic Beasley, Stephone Anthony, Tony Steward, and punter Bradley Pinion. But, on December 1, it was announced that Chad Morris had accepted the Head Coaching position at SMU. Jeff Scott and Tony Elliot were named Co-Offensive Coordinators to replace him. Brandon Streeter was brought in as QB coach and Recruiting Coordinator. He would have less than a month to work with Cole Stoudt to prepare for Oklahoma in the bowl game. Another interesting “angle” leading up to this game, was the obvious one, Brent Venables would be facing his former Head Coach Bob Stoops as Clemson Defensive Coordinator for the first time.

The game started with that Brent Venables defense getting a 3 and out, and it took the Clemson offense one play to get on the board, as Stoudt hit Artavis Scott with a flanker screen that Scott took 65 yards to the house for a quick 7-0 Clemson lead. After another Oklahoma 3 and out, Clemson drove to the Sooner 13, but after a sack was forced to settle for a field goal from 34 yards by Lakip to lead 10-0. On their next possession, Oklahoma got two first downs, but then was set back by an offensive PI call, and then was intercepted by Korrin Wiggins, who returned it to the Sooner 20. But, the Sooner defense bowed up, quickly forcing a 42 yard field goal attempt, which they blocked.

But, on the ensuing Oklahoma possession, momentum quickly swung back to Clemson, as Ben Boulware got a rare pass interception, and made the most of it, taking it 47 yards to the house for a 17-0 Clemson lead with 3:25 still to go in the 1st quarter. Another Sooner punt was followed by a 9 play Clemson drive ending in a 49 yard Lakip field goal for a 20-0 Tiger lead. The Venables defense forced another 3 and out, and Clemson went on a 14 play, 80 yard drive culminating in a 26 yard Stoudt to Mike Williams pass for the TD. Clemson led 27-0 following the PAT, with 7:34 still remaining in the 2nd quarter. But, neither offense could muster much the rest of the half, and the score remained 27-0 heading to the locker room.

Clemson began the 2nd half with a drive to the Sooner 35, but instead of a field goal attempt on 4th down, Coach Swinney had Lakip punt the ball, with it going out of bounds on the Oklahoma 10. From there, the Clemson defense forced yet another 3 and out, and were set up on the 50 yard line after the Sooner punt from the end zone. Clemson took 5 plays to cover the distance, with Cole Stoudt running it in from the 2 yard line himself. The Lakip PAT made it 34-0 Tigers. Then, it was punt, punt, and punt, as the teams traded 3 and outs, until Clemson received the ball on our own 20, with exactly 6:00 to go in the 3rd quarter. From there, the Tigers put together an 80 yard drive, with Germone Hopper catching a 24 yard TD pass from Cole Stoudt to finish it. The Lakip PAT was blocked, but Clemson still led by the astounding score of 40-0 with 1:42 still to go in the 3rd quarter.

At this point in the game, Clemson went ultra-conservative on play calling, resulting in several 3 and outs. On Oklahoma's 3rd possession of this sequence, they finally got their only touchdown of the game, as Alex Ross took it in on an 11 yard run, but the Oklahoma PAT was blocked, making the score 40-6 with 6:57 to go in the game. And, that's the way it ended, as the Tigers celebrated a total domination, and Cole Stoudt was named MVP of the game. All results of Clemson's fourth season in a row with 10 or more wins are below:

At No. 12 Georgia No. 16 L 21–45
South Carolina State No. 23 W 73–7
At No. 1 Florida State No. 22 L 17–23 OT
North Carolina W 50–35
NC State W 41–0
Louisville W 23–17
At Boston College No. 24 W 17–13
Syracuse No. 21 W 16–6
At Wake Forest No. 19 W 34–20
At No. 24 Georgia Tech No. 18 L 6–28
Georgia State W 28–0
South Carolina No. 23 W 35–17 (Clemson leads the series 70-42-4.)

December 29
5:30 p.m.
No. 18 Clemson vs. Oklahoma
Russell Athletic Bowl
W 40–6
Cole Stoudt named MVP of the game.

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#8

Justyn Ross Deon Cain Billy Lott Chris Morocco Tyrone

A.J Terrell..

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Re: 2014 PICS AND VIDEOS!

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Re: Hill Watch...8 days!!!

8 years ago, 2014: Malaysia Airlines makes world news twice,

Re: 8 years ago, 2014: Malaysia Airlines makes world news twice,

Loved the Artavis Scott td vs SC

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