Miami-Clemson: Tigers Claw Out 40-37 OT Win, Dash Hurricanes' Title Hopes

The Hurricanes lost a gut-wrenching game to the Tigers in overtime yesterday afternoon, 40-37, when Clemson’s quarterback Kyle Parker found wide receiver Jacoby Ford for a 26-yard touchdown strike on 3rd-and-11 to cap off all scoring and send Miami to their second loss of the season.

The loss effectively ends Miami’s slim hopes for a shot at a National Title this season and puts in serious jeopardy the possibility of a BCS Bowl.

In case you missed the game, or were too busy watching the Alabama Crimson Tide narrowly avoid the upset of the year to the Tennessee Volunteers in their 12-10 victory capped by the blocked field goal by 350-lb Alabama nose tackle Terrence Cody—known as “Mt. Cody” to Crimson Tide fans—at the end of regulation, it was one of those thrilling back and forth affairs that Miami is known for being involved in every year; sometimes more than once.

I seriously debated whether I should write this recap at all. For one thing, I absolutely hate writing recaps of games my team loses in heartbreaking fashion. For obvious reasons, it’s just hard to find the necessary enthusiasm to put pen to paper, figuratively speaking.

That being said, I’d done far too much research in anticipation of writing this piece to let it all go to waste. I’d read numerous articles previewing the game, read all about Clemson University and their team at numerous sites, and beyond all that, had watched every frustrating, exciting, thrilling, ulcer-inducing minute of the game while taking copious notes.

Why would I let all that hard, backbreaking work (I kid, my back is fine, folks, although I could use a new chair) when I could pour out my anguish about the game instead. We Jews are want to purge ourselves of our troubles through the traditional means of talking about whatever pains us, and I’m no different. The catharsis is needed.

So, here’s my expurgation.

Miami still leads the all-time series with Clemson, 5-3, yet since joining the ACC, the Tigers have found a way to twice devastate the Hurricanes and their fans with crushing overtime wins in Miami. The first came on Nov. 6, 2004 as Clemson came away with a 24-17 overtime win over Miami; the last was yesterday’s 40-37 overtime thriller.

Miami gained some measure of revenge for that 2004 loss by going into Clemson’s home stadium and defeating the Tigers 36-30 in a triple-overtime win on Sept. 17, 2005, but none of that lessens the sting of yesterday’s loss to the boys from “Death Valley.”

Miami had come into this contest believing they could and should win it. Most of the nation felt they would win it, and the only way they were going to possibly have a shot at a championship this year (slim as that might have been), was if they did win it. Sadly, they didn’t win it ; and that can be, in my view, directly laid at the feet of the coaching staff.

Yes, I know, I know, it’s the players on the field who are ultimately responsible, but anyone who watched the game realizes that the coaches, on both sides of the ball, were simply boneheads yesterday.

I’m one of the first to defend Shannon from many of his critics, and some of the things that went wrong probably didn’t directly come from him, but the buck stops with him, and he has to own up to the atrocious play-calling at the end of the fourth quarter and in overtime.

My first gripe has to do with the plays being called on Miami’s last possession of the final period. Miami had just intercepted Kyle Parker’s pass in the end zone to retain their 34-31 edge with 5:42 left in the game, and everyone, including myself, felt the game was well in hand. After all, we had seen all the wild and crazy plays already, hadn’t we?

What happened next can only be explained a little by the events of Miami’s possession three series previously at the start of the fourth quarter, where on 1st-and-10 from the Miami 31, Javarris James rushed up the middle for a 44-yard gain. James, who up 'til that point had only touched the ball once in the game; a three-yard rumble in the first period of play, looked good on that 44-yard scamper.

However, it certainly wasn’t any reason to put the ball in his hands on three consecutive plays when the ‘Canes were only up by three with just less than six minutes.

Yet, that’s exactly what the Miami coaching staff did, having Jacory Harris forego trying a pass to Travis Benjamin, whom he’d connected with for a 69-yard touchdown strike on the previous series, and instead hand the ball off to James on pedestrian runs up the middle.

On 1st-and-10, James rushed up toward the middle of the line and pounded out a yard. That left Miami in a 2nd-and-9 situation, where you’d think they’d possibly have their dynamic young quarterback try and connect with someone like Leonard Hankerson, whom he’d been going to all day with great success. Nope, they again handed the ball off to James, who did get six yards on the play.

Again, that six-yard run must have given the Miami coaching staff some thoughts that James was about to bust another one for 44 yards, for instead of having Harris drop back and fake a handoff for a play-action pass, which the Tigers were ripe for, Miami again just ran James up the middle, getting one yard for their trouble and being forced to punt the ball with 3:23 left on the clock.

Only up by three, that was far, far too much time to give Kyle Parker and the rest of the Tigers. While the ‘Canes defense had looked great on certain plays throughout the game, they’d also been torched more often than a flambé at a five-star restaurant during the wild, wacky, topsy-turvy contest. You could simply sense that this game was going to overtime, no matter what happened; and that sense proved correct.

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