Clemson Uses Similar Play On First Touchdown Against 'Canes
If Clemson's first touchdown Saturday against Miami looked familiar, it's because the Tigers ran a very similar play in a 65-0 rout of the Hurricanes back in 2015.
As quarterback Trevor Lawrence rolled to the wide side of the field, the Clemson offensive line built a wall toward the short side. The Miami defensive line gave chase to Lawrence, leaving Braden Galloway wide open on a screen. From there, Galloway followed a convoy of offensive linemen into the endzone.
"Yeah, we had a feeling it would work," Galloway told a group of media Tuesday. "I think we ran it five years ago against Miami. We worked on it a few times this week, and it ended up being one of the first plays in our rack of plays. It ended successfully, it was a good play call. We worked on it all week, getting the timing down and making sure no one was offsides. I'm just glad we were able to execute it well."
Jackson Carman provided the block that allowed Galloway to score the Tigers to score first as Clemson defeated the seventh-ranked Hurricanes 42-17.
"When Jackson's running full speed and you're in his way, it's kind of going to be bad for anybody," Galloway said. "The whole line was pretty much down the field blocking. I was appreciative of them on that play and really all night. They did a great job."
Galloway had a second touchdown catch in the second half. As the defender went down, Galloway stood over him for a second before celebrating.
"That was just a heat of the moment thing," Galloway said. "I was excited to be able to get into the endzone. That's just the passion for the game showing right there. I'm happy we were able to come out with a win, and happy I could do some things to play a part in that. That's just one of the plays you can see the passion flowing."
Galloway was asked about the chippiness of the game against Miami.
"We just try to stay calm," Galloway said. "It's all about the little things. When games get like that, you just focus on playing the game and not talking about it. I think the biggest thing is just the need to execute and how we need to execute it and the talking will care of itself. We don't really need to be talking, if we're doing the things we need to be doing our game will speak for itself."
