Armour: Clemson silences doubters with Orange Bowl rout of Oklahoma
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Anyone who still wants to diss and dismiss Clemson as paper Tigers, you can’t say you weren’t warned.
After holding their tongues all week long, the Tigers gave a defiant — and emphatic — answer to everyone who doubted their legitimacy, their unbeaten record and their No. 1 seed. Thanks to a 37-17 rout of Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl Thursday that wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicated, Clemson is one of the last two teams left, its next game the College Football Playoff championship on Jan. 11.
"It feels great coming in as the underdog," All-American defensive end Shaq Lawson said. "It made us hungrier."
The Sooners were relentless with their trash talk, Lawson said, blustering about how much better they were and how Clemson was going to get a taste of what Oklahoma felt after last year’s debacle at the Russell Athletic Bowl.
But all the Tigers were tasting by the end of the night were the oranges being passed around their raucous locker room.
"We know what we’re capable of and we proved that tonight," said defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, now a hero for the big-and-tall set after he broke loose for a 31-yard reception on a fake punt.
Yes, you read that right. Reception.
"When we’re good in all phases," Wilkins said, "we’re unbeatable."
With a record of 14-0, it’s hard to argue that. Better yet, it’s about time the country gives Clemson its due.
Especially after this performance.
The Tigers are the first to admit some of their games have been far from perfect. Notre Dame, Louisville, South Carolina, the ACC championship — take your pick.
But this game wasn’t one of those.
Heisman Trophy finalist Deshaun Watson was as good as advertised, accounting for 332 yards of total offense and two touchdowns, one on the ground and one in the air. Wayne Gallman gashed the Sooners for another 150 yards.
The defense intercepted Baker Mayfield twice and, after scoring on Oklahoma’s opening drive, never let him get into a rhythm. Joe Mixon was rendered ineffective before he left the game with an injury in the third quarter.
And in case anyone wondered, Tigers coach Dabo Swinney definitely brought his own guts.
With Clemson facing a fourth-and-4 from the OU 44 and momentum definitely swinging in the Sooners’ favor, Swinney made a call that can only be described as, well, gutsy.
Punter Andy Teasdall took the snap and tossed it to Wilkins, whose listed weight of 315 pounds looks to be just a bit understated.
"He can move," said linebacker B.J. Goodson, who had one of the picks on Mayfield. "You’d be surprised."
The Sooners certainly were, not catching up to Wilkins until he’d rumbled for a 31-yard gain.
"It gets back to their ability to execute, and we didn’t," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "We were late getting out guy down the boundary."
And anyone who wants to wants to make excuses for Oklahoma being bulldozed by Clemson in a second consecutive bowl game, stop. Just stop.
If there were excuses to be had, they were all Clemson’s.
Three players, including up-and-coming receiver Deon Cain, were back home, banished earlier this week for failed drug tests. An even worse loss was that of Lawson, who spent all but the first two series of the game limping along the sidelines, an ice pack on his knee for what he thinks is a sprained knee.
And going back to last year’s Russell Athletic Bowl for a second, for as much talk as there’s been about how Oklahoma was a different team, Clemson was, too. The Tigers had to replace all of their starters on both the offensive and defensive lines from last year’s team.
Yet here they are, 60 minutes away from their first national title since 1981.
"I told them, 'You ain’t favored to win the damn game, but we ain’t no underdog,' " Swinney said. "Nobody believes in this team except these guys. They just got a great heart, and it showed tonight."
The scariest part of all? This wasn’t even Clemson’s best effort.
The Tigers came away with only one touchdown in their first five trips to the red zone. They settled for field goals twice, and Watson was intercepted in the end zone just before half time.
But they were, without a doubt, the better team. And far better than anyone has given them credit for.
Follow columnist Nancy Armour on Twitter @nrarmour.
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