H-Bowl Notebook: Bowden Apologizes for Last Play |
DIFFERING VIEWS
Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden and Louisiana Tech head coach Jack Bicknell had differing views of the final sequence of plays in Monday's 49-24 Tigers' victory in the Humanitarian Bowl. Bicknell was quietly upset that Bowden appeared to be trying to run up the score with a late throw to the end zone by third-string quarterback Matt Schell. Clemson then continued to run the ball instead of taking a knee to run out the clock in the game's final seconds. Fullback Chad Jasmin was stopped just short of the goal line on the game's final play. "I'm looking forward to it," Bicknell said when reminded the Bulldogs face Clemson again in the second week of the 2002 season. "Everyone has their own opinion about what happened out there. I know I wouldn't (tried to score). But this isn't Little League. It's our job to stop them, and I'm proud of our guys for stopping them." Bowden, who followed Bicknell in the postgame press conference, apologized for Schell's throw. "He checked into that on his own" based on what he saw defensively, Bowden said. "The coaching staff didn't call that pass, so I want to apologize to Louisiana Tech for that." Pressed on why he didn't take a knee in the final seconds, Bowden became defensive. "We stopped down there with about six inches to go. Our running back just sort of stood there with the ball, didn't he?," Bowden said. "There was time left on the clock and we had timeouts. We could have run another play, but we didn't. The only thing I'll apologize for is the pass." SNOW HISTORY Monday marked just the fourth time in team history that Clemson played a game in the snow. The last instance came in 1996 at Virginia, a 24-16 win which ended amid snow flurries. The only other recorded instances of snow for Clemson football games came in 1936 - a 12-0 loss to Furman - and 1902's 11-0 win over Tennessee in Knoxville. NO ROCK, NO PROBLEM Team managers came up with an ingenious way of carrying out the tradition of rubbing Howard's Rock prior to kickoff. Lacking the original, the managers made a replica from snow and placed it at the spot where the Tigers entered Lyle Smith Field at Broncos Stadium. The snow sculpture held up reasonably well. Only once did the "rock" fall off its pedestal. It was quickly replaced. ODDS AND ENDS - Senior quarterback Woody Dantzler added yet another team record to his stockpile. By finishing the day 15-of-23 passing for 218 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, Dantzler became the school's all-time leader in quarterback efficiency rating at 132.5. The previous mark was held by Mark Fellers. - Sophomore linebacker John Leake's second-quarter sack of La. Tech quarterback Luke McCown was the first of his career. - Senior wide receiver Matt Bailey's 10-yard touchdown pass from Dantzler was just the second of his career. - Dantzler's four TD pass, combined with one from Willie Simmons, tied the team record of five touchdown passes in a single game. UP NEXT The team boarded charter jets soon after the game and returned to Clemson late Monday night. Bowden said he soon will hold a meeting with the returning players, then he and the coaching staff will dive headfirst into recruiting. National signing day is Feb. 6.
Upgrade Your Account
Unlock premium boards and exclusive features (e.g. ad-free) by upgrading your account today.
Upgrade Now
