Story by Nikki Hood
DEATH VALLEY: When all the talk was about Clemson’s quarterback situation, the defense couldn’t get the job done with the game on the line.
Christopher Vizzina – starting his first game at quarterback – took the Tigers down the field to cut the score to five with just under seven minutes to play, but the Clemson defense couldn’t get off the field as SMU won 35-24 Saturday evening in their first-ever trip to Death Valley.
Clemson falls to 3-4 overall and 2-3 in the ACC, while SMU improves to 5-2 overall and 3-0 in the league. Clemson’s offense mustered 319 total yards, with all but 35 yards coming through the air. SMU had 429 yards of total offense.
Vizzina completed 29-of-42 passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns in his debut. TJ Moore had five catches for 124 yards and two scores. Tristan Smith caught the other Clemson touchdown.
SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings completed 23-of-43 passes for 290 yards and two scores. Running back Chris Johnson, Jr. had six carries for 59 yards and a score. He added four catches for 40 yards.
After trading possessions for much of the first half, SMU struck first at the 3:52 mark of the first quarter. A busted coverage by Ricardo Jones allowed Jordan Hudson to run free for a 70-yard catch and run and a 7-0 Mustang lead.
After Clemson’s offense sputtered to another three-and-out, SMU took over on its own 33. Nine plays later, Sam Keltner’s 51-yard field goal attempt was true for a 10-0 Mustang lead with 11:26 to play before halftime.
Once Clemson’s offense found the middle of the field, Vizzina finally had success with four of his five pass attempts going for 10 yards or more. The drive started on the 25, and Vizzina immediately hit Moore for a 12-yard gain and followed with a 10-yard pass to Williams. Two plays later, Williams picked up 18 yards on a screen pass to the SMU 32. Moore was wide open on the next play, caught the ball on the four-yard line, and took it the rest of the way for the Tigers’ first score to cut SMU’s lead to 10-7 with 8:51 to play before intermission.
Keltner hit his second field goal of the game – this time from 48 yards – for a 13-7 SMU lead with 4:29 to go before halftime.
After another three-and-out from the Tigers and a failed fourth-down attempt with the jumbo package on the Clemson 39, SMU’s offense picked up eight yards on eight plays, but Keltner knocked his third field goal of the day through to extend SMU’s lead to 16-7 with just over a minute remaining in the half.
On its second drive of the third quarter, Clemson looked poised to go three-and-out yet again, but on third-and-nine, Moore slipped past the defender, and somehow managed to reel in a pass with his fingertips for a 62-yard touchdown – his second of the game to make it a 16-14 SMU advantage with 8:48 to play in the third quarter.
SMU promptly answered with a four-play, 75-yard touchdown of its own. Chris Jones, Jr. picked up 30 yards on the second play of the drive, and Derrick McFall did the rest on a pitch to the right side that he took down the sideline for 35 yards and the score. The Mustangs extended their lead to 23-14 with 7:28 to play in the third quarter.
Clemson’s offense kept the positive momentum going with a 17-play, 65-yard scoring drive that ended with a 28-yard field goal by Nolan Hauser with just seven seconds remaining in the third quarter. SMU’s lead was cut to 23-17 with the make.
The Mustangs’ offense continued to be too much for Clemson’s defense to handle in the second half. This time scoring in just six plays on a 22-yard pass to Matthew Hibner for SMU’s largest lead of the game at 29-17 with 12:30 to go.
With SMU facing a third-and-nine, Wade Woodaz tipped the pass over the middle from Jennings, and Jones finished the play with an interception at the SMU 49. Vizzina and the offense made the most of the interception with an eight-play scoring drive. Vizzina took what the defense gave him and hit his checkdown to gradually move down the field. A late hit out of bounds on Randall put the ball on the 22-yard line. After going backward on consecutive plays and facing a 4th-and-21, SMU jumped offsides and Vizzina found Tristan Smith in the endzone to cut the Mustangs’ lead to 29-24 with 6:44 to play and give Death Valley new life.
Despite facing three third downs and a fourth-and-three on the drive, SMU made the plays when it counted most and scored a touchdown with 1:03 to play to put the game out of reach. The Tigers are off next week before facing Duke for Homecoming.
Final Stats
My view from Death Valley
Clemson postgame
Dabo Swinney
Christopher Vizzina
Tristan Smith
