Cole Stoudt Has Lasting Memory for His Clemson Career in Demolition of Oklahoma

The gifts given to players in the Russell Athletic Bowl included a watch, a T-shirt and a Best Buy shopping trip. Cole Stoudt got an extra prize: the kind of a sendoff befitting a guy who stuck around and waited for his chance.

In the final game of his senior season, a season in which he was essentially benched three times, the Clemson quarterback put forth a career-best effort in the Tigers' 40-6 win over Oklahoma on Monday.

He threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns on 26-of-36 passing and also ran for a two-yard TD, putting a cap on a tenure that involved three seasons as a backup before finding himself in and out of the lineup this fall.

As shocking as the final score was, even more improbable was how much Stoudt had to do with it.

He only started because freshman Deshaun Watson, the heir apparent to record-breaker Tajh Boyd, had surgery to repair a torn ACL earlier this month and wasn't available.

Watson had played with that injury in Clemson's win over rival South Carolina, something the coaching staff was aware of ahead of time but pushed aside because Watson figured to give the Tigers their best chance to win.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney had a premonition heading into the bowl game that, given one more chance to play in the orange and purple, Stoudt would end his career on a high note.

"I think he's going to play well, I really do; I like the look in his eye and his focus," Swinney told Brandon Rink of the Anderson Independent-Mail prior to the game. "I think he knows that he's the guy and has a chance to go and finish this thing off the right way."

That "look" Swinney referred to could be seen throughout Monday's performance, from his first snap—a short sideline screen to Artavis Scott that the speedy wide receiver turned into a 65-yard touchdown catch—to his scamper for a rushing TD midway through the third quarter.

It was best noticed on the sidelines when, not long after getting lit up—as well as having his helmet torn off—he tossed a pinpoint 24-yard TD pass to Germone Hopper.

Stoudt showed up at Clemson in 2011, the same year that Boyd began his three-year run in charge of a team that would win 32 games and make two BCS bowl appearances.

The 6'4" Stoudt got plenty of mop-up duty between 2011-13, throwing eight TD passes in 119 attempts while completing over 72 percent of his passes.

He finally got his chance this year, beating out Watson and Chad Kelly, who was booted off the team in the spring. But Stoudt struggled in the season-opening loss at Georgia, and not long into the third game at Florida State, he was replaced by Watson.

Stoudt threw only four passes over the next two games.

David Goldman/Associated Press

Yet when Watson broke a bone in his hand against Louisville on Oct. 11, Stoudt had to come in cold and managed the offense enough to pace Clemson to a 23-17 victory. Stoudt started the next three games, winning all of them, but when Watson was ready to go in mid-November, the senior had to step aside for the freshman again.

Then Watson suffered a knee injury against Georgia Tech, and Stoudt was again thrown into the fire.

This time, though, he failed miserably, completing only three of 11 passes for 19 yards and three interceptions. Two of those were returned for touchdowns in the 28-6 loss to Georgia Tech.

Stoudt finishes his career with a 6-2 record as a starter, helping Clemson reach 10 wins for a fourth straight season. He threw for 1,892 yards and nine touchdowns this season. For his career, he posted 2,634 passing yards and 19 total scores.

"What a fighter," Swinney told ESPN after the game (h/t TigerNet.com). "He had a stage like this tonight to play probably the best game of his career."

With the game no longer in doubt, Swinney used timeouts during the fourth quarter to allow his seniors on both sides of the ball to walk off the field to a loud ovation from Clemson's fans.

When it was Stoudt's turn to do so, the cheers were coming as much from the fans as from the sideline as Stoudt's teammates recognized the dedication he'd put forth during the past four years.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.