NC State
Clemson
No. 16 Clemson Outlasts Wolfpack, 45-37
10/13/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct 13, 2001
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.--The North Carolina State Fair has breathtaking rides, hair-raising thrill shows and oodles of tasty foods. But there is nothing on the Midway that could have possibly compared to Woody Dantzler on Saturday. In one of the most dazzling individual performances in ACC football history, Clemson's senior quarterback accounted for 517 yards of total offense in the Tigers' 45-37 win over NC State at Carter-Finley Stadium.
To go along with 184 yards rushing on 23 carries, Dantzler hit 23-of-27 passes for 333 yards and four touchdowns. He also scored a pair of touchdowns himself with runs of 55 and eight yards, respectively.
If the 5-11, 205 pound senior wasn't a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate prior to Saturday, he certainly is now.
"I can't imagine there being a better player in America than Woody Dantzler," said Wolfpack head coach Chuck Amato. "He had 517 yards of total offense and they had 567 as a team. There's no secret to how they win and why they win. He makes big plays and he breaks tackles. We couldn't tackle him. We must have set a record for missed tackles on just him alone. He put on a display out here today."
It was a display that started on the third play from scrimmage. Running down the line on an option keeper, Dantzler broke a tackle attempt at the line of scrimmage by Pack linebacker Brian Jamison and raced 55 yards to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead just 1:24 into the ballgame.
NC State (3-2, 1-2) came right back to grab a 14-7 lead on a pair of scoring passes from Philip Rivers to Jerricho Cotchery. Both plays came against Clemson blitzes that left Tiger cornerbacks exposed in man-to-man coverage. After getting burned twice, Clemson called off the dogs and enjoyed more success playing zone coverages behind a more conventional four-man rush.
Meanwhile, `The Woody Show' was just getting started. With 12:10 remaining in the opening half, Clemson (4-1, 2-1) started a drive from its own 29. Nine players later, Dantzler stuck it in the end zone by hitting wide receiver Derrick Hamilton with a 10-yard touchdown pass to tie things at 14-14.
On their next possession, the Tigers marched right down the field again. On first down from the 25, Dantzler scampered 19 yards on a quarterback draw. The drive-opening play was one of the big stories on the afternoon as Clemson would average 9.5 yards on first down plays. Another scoring toss from Dantzler, this one from seven yards out to tight end Ben Hall, put the Tigers in front 21-14. It was a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
After Adam Kiker booted a short field right before halftime to bring NC State to within four points, the Pack had a chance to grab the momentum when it received the kick off to start the second half. But when a block in the back penalty nullified a nine-yard pass play from Rivers to Bryan Peterson, the Pack was forced to punt the ball away to an offense that it wouldn't be able to stop for most of the second half.
Three times Dantzler would get his hands on the football in the third period, and all three times he led his team on long scoring drives. A 54-yard march in just four plays ended when Dantzler found tailback Travis Zachery on a seam route. The scoring play, which went for 22 yards, put the Tigers out front 28-17. On it next possession, Clemson traveled 69 yards on eight plays with Dantzler doing the honors on an eight-yard run. At that point, the game seemed to be getting away from the Pack.
But trailing 35-17, NC State zipped 89 yards in four plays to make it 35-23. After taking the ball on a reverse pitch from Rivers, Peterson lofted a 21-yard touchdown pass to Cotchery, who was left all alone in the right corner of the end zone. Not only did Peterson throw the third touchdown pass of his career, he also set a new career-high with 120 receiving yards on the day.
With the crowd sensing there was hope, Carter-Finley came alive. But these are moments when great players step up to the challenge, and Woody Dantzler is a great player. With Dantzler running and passing, Clemson put together an impressive drive that covered 92 yards in 13 plays. And when Dantzler's four-yard scoring pass fell into the arms of Chad Jasmin with 57 seconds left in the third quarter, the Tigers had themselves a fairly comfortable 42-23 advantage.
"We tried a little bit of everything," Amato said when asked about NC State's defensive strategy. "We've got to learn how to play the entire 60 minutes. The game is sixty minutes and our players have to learn than they just can't do it in the fourth quarter.
But as it has done so many times before, NC State did try to make a game of it in the fourth period. Rivers' (24-46 for 310 yards and four TDs) third scoring toss of the day, a 15-yarder to Peterson, made it 42-29 Clemson.
A 31-yard field goal by Aaron Hunt with 5:34 left gave Clemson some breathing room before Rivers led the Pack to another score. Willie Wright's 12-yard grab, which was followed by a successul two-point conversion, brought NC State within eight points with 2:57 left.
But on the ensuing kickoff, NC State's chances were diminished when an onside kick attempt failed.
"[Winning on the road] is difficult to do in any conference," said winning coach Tommy Bowden. "It's pretty impressive to do that two weeks in a row because those two teams didn't give us anything."
Following a disappointing last second loss to Virginia three weeks ago, Tommy's Tigers have gotten themselves back in the ACC race with back-to-back road wins over Georgia Tech and NC State.
As for the Pack, it's now time to pick up the pieces and move on, although that future may not include linebacker Levar Fisher. The reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year did not return after being helped off the field with a knee injury in the third quarter. Amato said the results of an MRI on Sunday would provide more information on the senior's status.
