Clemson Falls To Kentucky In Music City Bowl |
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -Andre Woodson threw for three touchdowns and 300 yards as Kentucky surprised Clemson 28-20 in the Music City Bowl on Friday, the Wildcats' first postseason victory in 22 years.
Woodson completed 20 of 30 passes to finish his breakout season with 31 touchdowns - more than five times his total from last year as a sophomore. He joins Tim Couch in 1997-98 as the only Wildcats quarterbacks to top the 30-touchdown mark in a season. Behind Woodson, chosen as the game's Most Valuable Player, the Wildcats (8-5) racked up their highest point total in bowl history. They won their sixth bowl game overall and their first since a victory over Wisconsin in the 1984 Hall of Fame Bowl. Kentucky made its first bowl appearance since 1999. Clemson (8-5) took the loss in its 18th bowl game since 1985. The Tigers hadn't ended their season in defeat in three years. Despite beating Wake Forest and Georgia Tech, the teams that played for the Atlantic Coast Conference title, Clemson went into a tailspin down the stretch, losing four of five. While Kentucky's offensive fireworks weren't completely unexpected, a defense that came into the game ranked second-to-last nationally made the difference. The Wildcats held a 4-2 turnover advantage and limited Clemson to just six points until the final seven minutes when Kentucky used a prevent defense. A large early deficit forced the Tigers, one of the country's best rushing teams, into passing situations. Running backs James Davis and C.J. Spiller combined for just 77 yards, and Spiller fell short of the 86 he needed to make the tandem the first in school history with 1,000 rushing yards each.
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
Scoring Summary:
1st 11:04 UK - Micah Johnson 1 yd run (Lones Seiber kick), 12-62 3:56, CU 0 - UK 7
2nd 08:14 CU - Barry, D 32 yd pass from Proctor, W (Early, J kick failed), 3-47 0:52, CU 6 - UK 7
02:14 UK - DeMoreo Ford 70 yd pass from Andre' Woodson (Lones Seiber kick), 5-86 2:24, CU 6 - UK 14
3rd 08:09 UK - Dicky Lyons 24 yd pass from Andre' Woodson (Lones Seiber kick), 6-67 2:57, CU 6 - UK 21
4th 11:29 UK - Jacob Tamme 13 yd pass from Andre' Woodson (Lones Seiber kick), 4-28 1:44, CU 6 - UK 28
07:25 CU - Grisham, T 17 yd pass from Proctor, W (Proctor, W rush failed), 11-78 4:04, CU 12 - UK 28
00:44 CU - Kelly, A 17 yd pass from Proctor, W (Palmer, M pass from Proctor, W), 8-74 2:33, CU 20 - UK 28
CU UK FIRST DOWNS................... 19 21 RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 25-130 40-100 PASSING YDS (NET)............. 272 309 Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 39-23-1 29-21-0 TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 64-402 69-409 Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0 Punt Returns-Yards............ 1-1 3-59 Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 4-77 2-41 Interception Returns-Yards.... 0-0 1-0 Punts (Number-Avg)............ 3-43.7 4-25.0 Fumbles-Lost.................. 3-3 2-2 Penalties-Yards............... 5-50 8-84 Possession Time............... 26:16 33:44 Third-Down Conversions........ 4 of 11 7 of 14 Fourth-Down Conversions....... 1 of 1 1 of 2 Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 2-5 2-4 Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 4-39 4-25
RUSHING: Clemson-Davis, J 8-53; Proctor, W 9-32; Spiller, C 5-24; Ford, J 1-15;
Stuckey, C 1-5; Merriweather, R 1-1. Kentucky-Rafael Little 17-54; Terr.
Bankhead 3-37; Tony Dixon 8-29; John Conner 1-1; Micah Johnson 2-1; TEAM 1-0;
Andre' Woodson 8-minus 22.
PASSING: Clemson-Proctor, W 23-39-1-272. Kentucky-Andre' Woodson 20-28-0-299;
Tim Masthay 1-1-0-10.
RECEIVING: Clemson-Kelly, A 6-66; Stuckey, C 5-93; Grisham, T 5-49; Davis, J
2-13; Barry, D 1-32; Ford, J 1-8; Harris, L 1-5; Merriweather, R 1-4; Palmer, M
1-2. Kentucky-Keenan Burton 5-30; Jacob Tamme 4-59; Steve Johnson 3-67; Dicky
Lyons 2-50; Rafael Little 2-15; Tony Dixon 2-2; DeMoreo Ford 1-70; Marc.
McClinton 1-10; Curtis Pulley 1-6.
INTERCEPTIONS: Clemson-None. Kentucky-Trevard Lindley 1-0.
FUMBLES: Clemson-Proctor, W 1-1; Davis, J 1-1; Stuckey, C 1-1. Kentucky-Rafael
Little 1-1; Jacob Tamme 1-1.
Stadium: LP Field Attendance: 68024
Kickoff time: 12 Noon End of Game: 3:35 Total elapsed time: 3:35
Officials: Referee: Clete Blakeman; Umpire: Stephen Rieker; Linesman: Kelly Saalfeld;
Line judge: Marc Bovos; Back judge: Len Williams; Field judge: Rick Skaggs;
Side judge: Phil Laurie; Scorer: Jim Lowery;
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