Remembering the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl
Trailing 24-13 to LSU entering the fourth quarter, Clemson came off the mat to score three times in the final stanza against one of the nation’s staunchest defenses. Chandler Catanzaro’s 37-yard field goal as time expired lifted Clemson to a 25-24 win in the Chick-fil-A Bowl in the Georgia Dome.
After Clemson pulled within two points with 2:47 left on a 12-yard touchdown strike from Tajh Boyd to DeAndre Hopkins, it was unable to pull even when Boyd’s pass on the two-point attempt fell incomplete.
But the Clemson defense quickly got the ball back to its offense by forcing a three-and-out with 1:39 remaining, and Boyd, who was named Chick-fil-A Bowl Offensive Most Outstanding Player, engineered a drive that covered 60 yards in 10 plays and culminated in Catanzaro’s game-winner.
LSU's Jeremy Hill burst off tackle and cruised into the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 lead. Making matters worse, Sammy Watkins was lost for the night after suffering an injury during the contest.
With things potentially looking bleak, Clemson mustered a big-time response against the LSU defense, marching 75 yards in 11 plays and finding the end zone on an 11-yard run by Boyd to tie the score.
LSU jumped back on top early in the second quarter, as it capped a 65-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown pass from Zach Mettenberger to Jarvis Landry.
Later in the quarter, Clemson drove 70 yards and found the end zone on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Boyd to Hopkins to make the score 14-13 before Catanzaro’s PAT was blocked.
Michael Ford returned the second-half kickoff 43 yards, and on the next play, Hill ran 57 yards to pay dirt and a 21-13 lead just 17 seconds after halftime. Clemson’s defense continued to do its part and got the ball right back to its offense, as Malliciah Goodman and Grady Jarrett combined for Clemson’s sixth sack of the game on third down.
The offense took advantage of the opportunity, as Boyd engineered a 77-yard drive and hit Hopkins in the back of the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown pass to make the score 24-22 with 2:47 left in the game.
The two-point try failed, but Clemson’s defense once again did its job by forcing a quick three-and-out. A touchback on the ensuing punt gave Clemson the ball at its own 20 with 1:39 left in the game.
At that point, Boyd worked his magic, hitting Hopkins for a 26-yard strike on fourth-and-16 to get the drive rolling. He completed his last five passes of the game to set up Catanzaro’s game-winning kick.
Swinney was asked about the importance of that win in 2012 during Media Day, this was his response:
"It was the next step. The first step was my first team in '09 winning the division. You can't win – I always tell guys, you can't win five until you win four. You can't win four until you win three. You've got to take the steps. And I think so many people, so many programs, they try to take a shortcut. There's no elevator. You've got to take the steps. And that's a grind.
"But for me, '09 was the first step because we needed to win a division, and my first year we won a division. We played for the ACC Championship, got beat. But that was the first step.
"The next step was learning how to handle adversity. 2010 we lost five games by six points or less, two of them in overtime, one of them to the National Champions at Auburn in overtime. We learned how to handle adversity. Our culture was taking root. 2011 was the next step because we needed to win an ACC Championship. We hadn't done it in 20 years. So we won 10 games for the first time in 20 years. We won the ACC Championship. And then we got our butts kicked in the Orange Bowl. So we come back in '12, and we win 11 games.
"So now consistency, back-to-back 10-plus win seasons, and now we get back to a big bowl, and we beat LSU and a team that was way better than us. I mean, you can just – there ain't no doubt. That's probably the – that might be the best defense I've ever seen, that LSU defense of '12.
"But taking the next step of winning a game like that on a national stage and the belief – so the belief that came from that and what we were doing and then you come back in '13, back to the Orange Bowl, beat Ohio State, you win your first BCS bowl, and then the next year, we win 10 again, we beat South Carolina, we'd had a losing streak to South Carolina, beat South Carolina, beat Oklahoma, and then in '15 we're in the National Championship, got beat, '16 we're back, we win it. '17 we're right here in New Orleans, kind of fat and happy as the champions and we played like crap, and they punched us in the mouth, all right. And they were a better team.
"And then come back last year and win it again. It's just been a step along the way for us."
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 2012 CHICK-FIL-A BOWL
- With the victory, Clemson became the first ACC team to defeat LSU since 1955. Maryland, ranked No. 1 in the nation at the time, defeated LSU that year at College Park, 13-0. LSU had won 19 straight over ACC teams (in the league at the time of the game) entering the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl.
- LSU was 9-1 in the Georgia Dome entering the Clemson game, including 5-0 in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
- LSU was 36-1 in non-conference games under Les Miles (since 2005) entering the game against Clemson. The only loss was a 19-17 loss to Penn State in the 2010 Capital One Bowl. Thirty of the 36 LSU wins were by double digits. They had won 29 straight against teams ranked 12th or worse in the AP Poll (or unranked).
- LSU was 39-2 when scoring 20 points or more since the 2009 season. The only losses were to Mississippi (25-23 in 2009) and Arkansas (31-23 in 2010).
- LSU was 31-3 when a running back reached at least 100 yards under Les Miles. Jeremy Hill gained 124 yards in 12 carries against Clemson, but the Tigers still won the game. - LSU had a 44-5 record under Les Miles when winning the turnover margin. LSU won the turnover margin against Clemson, 2-1, but the Tigers won the game 25- 24.
- LSU had won 29 straight games when leading heading into the fourth quarter and was 101-8 when leading entering the fourth period in the previous 11 years. But, Clemson outscored LSU 12-0 in the final period to win 25-24.
- LSU was 50-3 under Les Miles, including 36-0 the previous six years, when holding the opposition under 100 yards rushing. Clemson had 99 against LSU, yet won the game.
- LSU had a 29-10 record in games decided by seven points or less under Les Miles, including 12-3 over the previous three years. But, Clemson won the game by a point. It was LSU’s first loss by one point since a 31-30 loss at Arkansas in 2008.
- LSU had the second-longest streak of consecutive weeks in the AP Poll entering the Chick-fil-A Bowl with 63 in a row.
- Clemson trailed by a 24-13 score entering the fourth quarter, but came back to win, 25-24. It was the first time Clemson won a bowl game that the Tigers trailed entering the fourth period since the 1959 Bluebonnet Bowl. Clemson trailed TCU, 7-3, entering the fourth period of that game, but scored 20 straight points in the fourth to win 23-7. Like LSU, that TCU squad was ranked seventh in the nation entering the game.
- Clemson’s victory over (USA Today) seventh-ranked LSU was the highest-ranked SEC team in either poll that an ACC team defeated in any game since the 2003 season when Clemson defeated sixth-ranked Tennessee in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, 27-14.
- Clemson’s defense held LSU to eight three-and-outs in 15 possessions, the most against LSU that year and the highest percentage of three-and-outs (53.3 percent) by an opposing defense. Clemson’s defense also had six sacks, the most sacks against LSU’s offense in 2012.
- Clemson overcame an 11-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to win by one point, 25-24. It was the largest fourth quarter deficit overcome to gain victory since the 2006 Wake Forest game when Clemson trailed by 14 points (17-3) entering the final period, then won the game, 27-17.
- It was the first game in Clemson history in which Clemson scored twice within the last three minutes to win a game by seven points or less. The closest occurrence was the 1980 Virginia game when Clemson scored a touchdown and a field goal with less than four minutes left to win, 27-24. - Clemson never led until the final whistle
*Clemson Athletic Communications Contributed to This Story*
