CLEMSON — For all Larry and Tony Luppi knew, they were about to meet an untimely end at the hands of a kidnapper wearing Clemson gear.
Luckily for the two brothers, Clemson offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell, not a man with bad intentions, was in the right place at the right time to rescue the stranded Notre Dame fans during a driving rainstorm in the wee hours Sunday morning.
Larry Luppi, 31, graduated from Notre Dame’s law school in 2010. He and his brother Tony, 30, both from Southern California, were celebrating Tony’s 30th birthday by making their first trip to South Carolina for Saturday’s nationally televised Notre Dame-Clemson showdown.
“Pretty dedicated fans to come all the way out here. They were the nicest people, and they were tickled pink,” Caldwell said Wednesday night. “All they could talk about was how well they were treated by the Clemson fans. That’s very impressive by our people.”