Chandler Cantanzaro kicked the game winning field goal for Clemson.
/ AP Photo
Chandler Cantanzaro booted a 37-yard field goal as time expired to give the Clemson Tigers a 25-24 win over the LSU Tigers in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on Monday night at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
Down 24-22, Clemson had the ball at their own 20 yard line with 1:39 left on the clock. Clemson drove the ball on a 10-play drive to set up the game winning field goal. The key play of the drive was Tajh Boyd's 26 yard completion to DeAndre Hopkins on fourth and 16. Hopkins had 13 catches for 191 yards and two scores.
Clemson star Sammy Watkins fumbled and was injured on the second play of the game and did not return. LSU capitalized off the turnover with Jeremy Hill scoring on a 17-yard run.
Clemson tied it up in the first quarter on a Tajh Boyd 11-yard TD run. In the second quarter, LSU scored through the air. Zach Mettenberger threw a 6-yard TD pass to Jarvis Landry to make it 14-7.
With 5:43 left in the first half, Clemson tried to tie it up. Boyd threw an 11-yard scoring strike to Hopkins. But the extra point was blocked. LSU took a 14-13 lead at the half.
In the third quarter, Hill broke through the middle and scored on a 57 yard run to give the Bayou Bengals the momentum. They tacked on a Drew Allman 20 yard field goal to make it 24-13.
Clemson rallied to outscore LSU 12-0 in the fourth quarter. Boyd, who completed 35 of 49 passes for 339 yards, threw his second TD pass to Hopkins with just 2:47 to play. Trailing by two after the touchdown 24-22, Clemson's try for two was no good.
Clemson kicked off to LSU, instead of trying an on-sides kick, with under three minutes left in regulation. The Clemson defense held the LSU offense to set up an improbable 10-play, 60 yard drive, leading to the winning kick.
Malliciah Goodman, a product of West Florence High, had three sacks. Quandon Christian out of Lake View High had a sack. Chandler Cantanzaro kicked two field goals. The holder on both kicks was Spencer Benton, who graduated from Myrtle Beach High. Benton also punted the ball six times for a 43.3 yard average, and made two tackles. Cheraw's Jaron Brown caught one pass for 12 yards and had one run for three yards. Jonathan Willard from Loris had four tackles including a sack.
Clemson finished the season with a record of 11-2. LSU finished with a 10-3 mark.
