... And finally, the close to Week 1 in the ECFA.
It's BYU vs. Clemson in the kind of matchup you'll only ever really see on the Miniature Football game board.
VS.
FIRST QUARTER
BYU got the ball first and moved the ball 33 yards to the Clemson 43, where the Cougars went for it on 4th-and-7, but Nelson's pass was incomplete. After a Clemson punt, there were three interceptions in four plays, two by Nelson, setting the Tigers up at their 40. Clemson converted the good fortune, going just 34 yards in 10 plays but kicking a 43-yard field goal.
CLEMSON 3, BYU 0.
SECOND QUARTER
BYU answered in a big way, mixing the pass and run to reach the Clemson 2, where tailback Kariya powered over for the score. But on the next play from scrimmage, the Tigers took the lead back, as Parker hit Ache for a 57-yard touchdown. BYU quickly tied it 4 minutes later on a 45-yard field goal. But Clemson wasn't done. After the teams traded punts, three straight completions, two to the TE Allen, and the last for a 35-yard score, put the Tigers back in front. Nelson then threw his third interception, and both teams missed field goals to end the half.
CLEMSON 17, BYU 10.
THIRD QUARTER
The poor kicking continued, as both teams again missed 40+-yard chances to open the second half. Following a pair of punts, Clemson drove inside the BYU 10 to close a scoreless period.
CLEMSON 17, BYU 10.
FOURTH QUARTER
From 1st-and-goal at the 8, the Tigers ended up with 4th-and-goal from the 9. This time the kicker was true from 26 yards. BYU's special teams continued their comedy on the next possession, however, missing a FG try from 53. With 11:28 to go up 10, the Tigers tried to run some clock, but losses on a pair of runs meant Allen's 13-yard catch on 3rd down wasn't enough. Following the punt, Nelson brushed aside his first-half struggles, and guided the Cougars on an 84-yard scoring drive, where only 1 of the 8 plays was a run. Nelson's 31-yard strike to Kariya brought BYU within 3.
Still, Clemson looked good when, after getting the ball with 5:53 to play, three straight runs chewed up 1:45 and earned a first down. But on a rollout pass on 1st-and-10 from the 43, Parker was picked by Kaveinga, who returned it to the Tigers 41. A 25-yard completion to Edwards moved the ball to the 16, before back-to-back holding penalties left BYU with 1st-and-30! No matter, Matthews caught a 23-yard pass to get it all back, and then caught a 10-yard TD pass 2 plays later to give the Cougars an improbable lead. Clemson's Dye, who previously had kickoff returns of 53 and 56 yards, was stopped for 20 on a great solo play by BYU's Atkinson, and the Tigers had just 18 seconds to work. Parker hit Jones for 30 to get it to midfield, but the 2nd- and 3rd-down passes fell incomplete as time ran out.
Final score: BYU 24, CLEMSON 20.
* Clemson has to find a running game to climb the polls. BYU's front four overran the Tigers' offensive line. BYU couldn't run much either, and in a battle of two 1-back offenses that throw the ball around, the low rushing totals weren't a surprise. But Clemson had no way to cover all of BYU's receivers, and Nelson gained yards threw the air in 15- to 20-yard chunks constantly. Neither team is great, but teams are going to have put some points on the board to beat BYU.
Ed
