Hill Watch...4 days!!!

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4 years ago, 2018: 17 people were killed when a student at

Sep 1, 2022, 9:37 AM

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, entered the school on February 14 and opened fire on teachers and students. One lucky player from South Carolina won a massive 1.54 BILLION dollar Mega Millions Jackpot. Prince Harry married Meghan Markle in another Royal Wedding.

After some lurid testimony in confirmation hearings, Brett Cavanaugh is confirmed to the Supreme Court. The Democrats win a majority in the House of Representatives in midterm elections, but Republicans strengthen their majority in the Senate, pretty much assuring that Congress will pass no meaningful legislation at all, since Party leaders admonish their membership to vote along strict Party lines. Welcome to American Politics in the #NotMyPresident era.

ACC Champions for 2018 were the (8-0, 15-0) Clemson Tigers, who defeated Pitt 42-10 in the ACC Championship Game. The Tigers were coming off a loss to Alabama in the previous season's College Football Playoff Semifinal, and had something to prove, to themselves, and the nation, as this season began. Several notable players from that team had decided to stay in school one more year, instead of leaving for the NFL Draft. They had one long distance goal in mind.

Clemson opened the season with Kelly Bryant returning at QB. But, he was going to be pushed almost immediately by a freshman named Trevor Lawrence, who all the recruiting services had rated as the best high school prospect since Andrew Luck. He would be hard to keep on the bench.

Clemson opened ranked No. 2, at home against No. 23 (FCS) Furman, and rolled as expected, 48-7. But then, competition picked up in a big way, as the Tigers traveled to Kyle Field to once again face Texas A&M and the Twelfth Man. College Gameday was in town, and they got a treat, as Clemson jumped in front 28-13 after 3 quarters, only to have to survive a furious 4th quarter rally led by A&M QB Kellen Mond, to prevail in a thrilling 28-26 nailbiter. A super sophomore running back named Travis Etienne was making his presence known already.

The No. 2 Tigers won easily at home, 38-7 against Georgia Southern, and 49-7 on the road against Georgia Tech. Trevor Lawrence had come off the bench to throw four touchdown passes in this game. It was becoming apparent to Coach Swinney that this was the leader the Tigers needed to take them where we wanted to go in 2018. He was named the starter for Game 5 against Syracuse. Kelly Bryant immediately decided to sit out the remaining games of the season and transfer, ultimately moving on to Missouri. This would leave a totally untested Chase Brice as the backup to Trevor Lawrence.

Syracuse QB Eric Dungey made life miserable for the Clemson defense from the outset, and they led 6-0 after two early field goals, before Lawrence would lead Clemson on a 10 play, 60 yard TD drive capped by an Etienne 1 yard run, Huegel PAT good, for a 7-6 lead. The Clemson D forced a 3 and out, and the offense drove again, but came up empty when Huegel misfired on a 47 yard field goal from the Cuse 30.

Syracuse would strike again from there, on a 6 play, 70 yard TD drive, with the big play being a 51 yard bomb from Dungey to Taj Harris to the Clemson 14. Then, after forcing a punt, they got a field goal on their next possession, to shockingly lead 16-7. But, for Clemson, the shock came more from the fact that the one thing that we feared had happened. Trevor Lawrence had been knocked out of bounds, and out of the game, on the previous Clemson possession, by an uncalled helmet to helmet targeting hit, and was done for the day. Now, the game, and perhaps Clemson's hopes of a return to the CFP were in the hands of Chase Brice. The 16-7 score held up until halftime.

In the 2nd half, as you would expect, Clemson came out and tried to rely on the running game. It worked for several plays, but on 3rd and 12 at the Cuse 35, Brice was sacked for a 10 yard loss, forcing a punt. The Clemson defense would also force a punt, but Brice was intercepted on 3rd down on our next possession, setting the Orange up at the Clemson 38. The Tiger defense held the Cuse offense to minus 4 yards, forcing a punt. On this Tiger possession, Brice would finally complete a pass, a 25 yarder to Hunter Renfrow, and the drive netted a 43 yard Huegel field goal to make the score 16-10.

The Tiger defense got an interception of their own next, as AJ Terrell picked off Dungey, and returned it to the Syracuse 25 yard line. But, only five yards gained afterward resulted in settling for another Huegel field goal, to trim the lead to 16-13. The defense held again, but Amari Rodgers fumbled the punt, gifting Syracuse a possession at the Clemson 10. four plays later, the Orange led 23-13, and things were looking decidedly bleak.

But, on the next possession, Clemson got several big “chunk” plays, Brice to Ross for 16, Brice to Ross for 15, an Etienne run for 17, and then Etienne for 26 to take it to the house. The Cuse still led, 23-20, but things did not look quite as bleak as before. Then, the defenses asserted themselves, forcing three straight punts, before Clemson got the ball again, backed all the way up to our own 6 yard line. The offense began to move, on a critical drive.

All running plays got us out to the Syracuse 47, where we called timeout before the definitive 4th and 1 play. Then, Gage Cervenka was called for a false start, meaning it was now 4th and SIX. Brice somehow found Tee Higgins for 20 yards and the 1st down at the Cuse 32. He then rumbled for 17 yards on a keeper, and Etienne and Tavien Feaster traded running plays the rest of the way, with Etienne taking it the final 2 yards, and the Huegel PAT gave Clemson a 27-23 lead which we would make hold up for the win.

Tiger prayers were answered when Trevor Lawrence was able to come back for the next game, a 63-3 romp over Wake Forest in Winston-Salem. The Tigers would not be tested the rest of the regular season, as the wins clicked off. 41-7 over NC State at home. 59-10 over FSU at Doak Campbell. A 77-16 laugher over Louisville. Boston College hung tough for 3 quarters, but fell 27-7 in Chestnut Hill. Clemson had backups playing a good portion of the 35-6 win over Duke at home. The No. 2 Tigers NEVER AGAINED South Carolina 56-35 in the Valley to wrap up a perfect, undefeated regular season. It was Clemson's 5th win in a row in the series, to lead 74-42-4.

Pitt offered little resistance in the ACC Championship Game, as Clemson cruised 42-10, to enter the CFP as the No. 2 seed, behind, who else, 13-0 Alabama. With 12-0 Notre Dame at No. 3, and Big 12 Champion Oklahoma at 12-1, this was arguably the strongest field ever to play for a National Championship. For sure, the pundits were near unanimous in their opinions that this Alabama squad just might be the greatest college football team of All Time. They were not even concerned when No. 4 Oklahoma put up 35 points against Bama in the 45-34, December 29th Orange Bowl Semifinal.

Clemson, meanwhile, was facing a 12-0 Notre Dame squad, coached by Brian Kelly, that was looking to prove that Notre Dame going unbeaten this season was no fluke. They were very confident going into the December 29th Cotton Bowl Semifinal with Clemson. That confidence lasted until the reality of the Tiger defense smacked them in the mouth. Clemson controlled this game throughout, allowing just a token field goal in the 30-3 domination. Still, the Greatest College Football Team of All Time, 2018 Alabama, was installed as a 5.5 point betting favorite over Clemson for the Championship Game.

Clemson got the ball first, but could not move it, and Jaylen Waddle fair caught the punt at the Bama 21. Tua Tagovailoa, who had been the off the bench hero in last years National Championship Game, had been the starter for the Tide all this year, and trotted onto the field, ready to begin the Bama domination. Two quick pass completions got a 1st down at the Bama 41, but on Tua's 3rd straight pass, Clemson's AJ Terrell suddenly left his man and jumped the route, and before anyone could even comprehend what just happened, was in the end zone with a 44 yard interception return for the touchdown. Clemson led 7-0, and the crowd was stunned.

But, Bama quickly showed why they were ranked No. 1, as Tua only took 3 plays to hook up with Jerry Jeudy on a 65 yard bomb for the tying touchdown, 7-7. On the next Clemson possession, Trevor Lawrence showed the Bama defense he could throw the long ball too, as he hit Tee Higgins for 62 yards to the Bama 17. Before they could catch their breath, Travis Etienne broke up the left side for the last 17 yards on a run to retake the lead 14-7. If anyone had doubted it before, it was now evident that this Clemson team was capable of hanging with Alabama in this game.

But, like a great tennis match, Bama held serve, with their next possession resulting in a 10 play, 75 yard TD drive. But, the PAT was missed, and Clemson still led by a single point, 14-13. After a Clemson 3 and out, Bama drove again, an 11 play, 45 yard drive that carried into the 2nd quarter. The drive carried all the way to the Tiger 3, but the Clemson defense stiffened, and forced a field goal, which gave Bama their first lead, 16-13. Clemson proved they could mix the running game and the passing game on their next possession, a beautiful 6 play, 65 yard drive ending with Etienne plunging in from a yard out, to retake the lead for the Tigers at 21-16.

On the 7th play of the next Bama drive, Tua tried a long ball on 1st and 10 at the Clemson 44, but Trayvon Mullen ran the overthrow down, and returned it 46 yards to the Alabama 47 yard line. From there, the Tigers went on an 8 play, 47 yard drive, the longest play being a 26 yard Amari Rodgers catch and run to gain a 1st down at the Tide 5. Two plays later, Travis Etienne caught a short 5 yard pass and scored with it to make it 28-16 Clemson following the Heugel PAT. The Bama fans in attendance were by now sitting in stunned silence, especially after Clemson forced another Bama punt, and turned it into 3 more points to lead 31-16 at halftime.

But, Alabama Coach Nick Saban had been down big before, and everyone knew this game was far from over. Clemson, especially, knew how Saban had dug deep into his bag of tricks in the past to ruin Tiger dreams of glory. Bama opened the 2nd half with a 13 play drive, gaining a 1st and 10 at the Clemson 26. But, from there, the Tiger defense shut things down. Bama tried a fake field goal, which fooled no one, and Nyles Pinckney stuffed Mac Jones for a two yard loss to turn the ball over on downs at the Clemson 26. Nick Saban appeared to be VERY unhappy on the Bama sidelines, almost like the fake field goal call had not come from him.

The Tigers took over on what they knew was an important possession, and on 3rd and 8 from the Clemson 26, Lawrence hit Justyn Ross wide open near midfield, as he had juked the Bama defender into falling down. Ross took it all 74 yards to the house, and the rout was officially on. The Huegel PAT was missed, making the score 37-16. This may have been a blessing in disguise, because it quickly reminded the Tigers that bad things could still happen in this game.

With Bama now knowing they needed touchdowns on every possession, they drove to the Clemson 14, where the Tiger defense downed Tua one yard short on 4th and 4. The next Clemson drive, starting here at the Tiger 11, proved to be the dagger to the heart of Alabama. 12 plays, 89 yards, including some circus catches from Justyn Ross, and the final 5 yards to Tee Higgins on a slant route in the back of the end zone, with a personal foul call to boot, put Clemson up 44-16 after the Huegel PAT with 21 seconds to go in the 3rd quarter.

The next Bama drive went 9 plays, and got all the way to the Clemson 1 yard line. But from there the Tiger defense stuffed Bama on three straight running plays, the last being a Tua rollout that Clelin Ferrell derailed at the 9 yard line. After the teams exchanged punts, Clemson went on one of the most satisfying drives in school history, even though it did not result in points.

Bama had downed their punt on the Clemson 1 yard line. From there, the Tigers went on a 14 play, 94 yard drive that consumed all the remaining 10:02 in the game. The last play was an Adam Choice 7 yard run on 4th and 5 at the Bama 12, to gain a 1st and goal at the 5 yard line. The Tigers had “shocked the world”, including a certain SEC shill named Paul Finebaum, who professed to be “Gobsmacked”.

But, Finebaum and his ESPN cronies huddled for four days, and finally came up with a gem of an explanation for this improbable Alabama loss. In the past, whenever SEC teams won, it was always trumpeted that the REASON they won, is that their rigorous SEC schedules prepared them for anything, such that they were more “”battle tested” than their opposition. But now, suddenly, that tough SEC schedule had flat wore out this Alabama team, and they had nothing left in the tank by the time they played Clemson for the National Championship. Whatever makes your pacifier easier to suck at night, Cue Ball Paul. All 2018 results below.

No. 23 (FCS) Furman No. 2 W 48–7
At Texas A&M No. 2 (College GameDay) W 28–26
Georgia Southern No. 2 W 38–7
At Georgia Tech No. 3 W 49–21
Syracuse No. 3 W 27–23
At Wake Forest No. 4 W 63–3
No. 16 NC State No. 3 W 41–7
At Florida State No. 2 W 59–10
Louisville No. 2 W 77–16
At No. 17 Boston College No. 2 (College GameDay) W 27–7
Duke No. 2 W 35–6
South Carolina No. 2 W 56–35 (Clemson leads the series 74-42-4.)

December 1
No. 2 Clemson vs. Pittsburgh
Bank of America Stadium
ACC Championship
W 42–10

December 29
No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Notre Dame
AT&T Stadium
Cotton Bowl Classic–CFP Semifinal
W 30–3

January 7, 2019
No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 1 Alabama
Levi's Stadium
CFP National Championship
W 44–16

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Re: Hill Watch...4 days!!!

Re: Hill Watch...4 days!!!

#4

Re: Hill Watch...4 days!!!

Re: Hill Watch...4 days!!!

four days!! Just four fricking days!!!!!***

Re: Hill Watch...4 days!!!

Re: Hill Watch...4 days!!!

Re: Hill Watch...4 days!!!

4 years ago, 2018: 17 people were killed when a student at

Re: 4 years ago, 2018: PICS AND VIDEOS!

Lol at the shirtless FSU fan reading a book!

Thanks, O.J.!

Steve Fuller Deshaun Watson Mark Freeburg Trippy Coleman

.4 days!!! SPOT THE BALL! GO TIGERS BEAT EM ALL!***

Re: Hill Watch...4 days!!!

Spot the ball!***

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