A/N: Quick question Rams or eagles?
Ohio State's field goal came with four minutes and twelve seconds left on the fourth-quarter clock, a desperate 38-yard attempt that passed through the uprights without any particular conviction and left the score at 47 to 31, with most of Sun Life already knowing that the game was practically decided.
Urban Meyer on the Ohio State sideline had his arms crossed, looking at the scoreboard with the expression of someone who is already thinking about next season rather than the minutes remaining in this one, and his players on the field maintained their effort out of pride rather than any real hope of overcoming a two-touchdown deficit with so little time left.
"And with that field goal, Ohio State cuts into the lead, but the clock is no longer on their side," the commentator said while the camera showed the stadium scoreboard with the final numbers taking shape. "47 to 31 with less than 4 minutes remaining, and Clemson needing only to control the ball to close out what has been one of the best offensive performances we've seen in an Orange Bowl in years."
Clemson's next possession consumed three minutes and twenty-seven seconds, with Tajh Boyd at the helm of the offense calling run plays that weren't looking for yards but time, with Roderick McDowell absorbing the ball time and time again while the clock ran down and Ohio State used their timeouts without any real hope that they would serve any purpose.
On the sideline, Wyatt watched alongside Chad Morris with his arms crossed over his chest while Tajh managed the offense with the same composure he had played with all season, without any need to risk anything in the final minutes of his college career.
"Close this out right, Tajh," Chad muttered toward the field, although no one on the field could hear him.
McDowell ran three consecutive times, gaining 4, 6, and 5 yards respectively while the clock went down from 3 minutes to 2 and from 2 to 1, with Ohio State stopping the clock whenever they could without that changing the trajectory of the game in the slightest.
When fourth down arrived with forty-five seconds on the clock, Dabo didn't hesitate to send out the punt team instead of risking the ball.
Bradley Pinion's punt flew deep into Ohio State territory, and the Buckeyes took possession with forty seconds remaining and no timeouts, which turned anything they attempted into a symbolic exercise rather than a real threat.
Braxton Miller launched two desperate passes toward the end zone that none of his receivers managed to reach, with the Clemson defense playing deep and with no intention of risking anything in the final seconds of an already decided game.
On the Clemson sideline, Venables watched with his arms crossed without calling any additional adjustments, because there was no need to complicate something that was already resolved, and Jayron Kearse remained in his position at free safety with the patience of someone who knows that his job in these final seconds is simply not to make any mistakes.
With six seconds on the clock, Ohio State attempted one last pass that Jayron Kearse intercepted without any difficulty on his own forty-yard line, falling to the ground with the ball against his chest while the clock marked the final seconds and his teammates were already running toward him to celebrate even before the referee confirmed the play.
Dabo looked toward the field and called Tajh over.
"Last play," Dabo said. "It's yours."
Tajh put on his helmet and entered the field one last time as the starting quarterback of the Clemson Tigers, with Sammy at his side and the rest of the players who had declared themselves eligible for the NFL draft walking out together toward the huddle in what the entire stadium already understood as something more than a simple final play.
The ESPN cameras found Wyatt on the bench watching his teammate walk onto the field one last time, and something in his expression changed briefly before he began to clap along with the rest of the players who stayed on the sideline.
The referee set the ball and Tajh lined up behind the center one last time, looking toward the sideline where the rest of the team stood watching with their helmets raised.
"Snap!" Tajh shouted.
The ball reached his hands and Tajh simply took a knee without attempting any play, because there was no need to attempt anything else.
The referee blew the whistle.
Sun Life Stadium erupted.
The orange confetti began to fall from somewhere high above the stadium, covering the field in a matter of seconds while the ESPN cameras captured the image from every possible angle, with the Clemson players hugging in the center of the field and the tiger mascot running from one side of the turf to the other with arms raised as if he had scored the winning touchdown himself.
Near the sideline, Vic Beasley dropped to his knees on the grass with his hands on his head and a smile he hadn't had all game, while two teammates lifted him up laughing, and Martavis Bryant ran in circles across the field with his arms extended as if imitating an airplane, shouting something that was completely lost in the general noise of the stadium.
"AND CLEMSON WINS THE ORANGE BOWL!" the commentator shouted over the stadium noise. "47 to 31 over Ohio State in what has been a historic night here in Miami!"
The cameras located Dabo Swinney in the middle of the field, and before he could fully react, four of his players lifted him off the ground, carrying him together while Dabo waved his arms between laughter and protests that no one had any intention of listening to.
"PUT ME DOWN!" Dabo shouted without any real conviction while the team paraded him across the field through confetti and shouts, with Brent Venables laughing off to the side without making any effort to intervene in his head coach's rescue.
On the sideline, the ESPN reporters were already making their way onto the field with microphones in hand, looking for the stars of the night, while the rest of the stadium continued in its own celebration, with the orange stands completely standing up and some fans weeping openly without any shame about it.
A female reporter found Sammy Watkins first, who still had his helmet in hand and a smile that hadn't changed since the final whistle.
"Sammy, 16 receptions, 227 yards, record-breaking numbers tonight. What are you feeling right now?" the reporter asked, bringing the microphone close while around them the confetti continued to fall over both of them.
"I feel like this team deserved this," Sammy answered without hesitation. "We worked all season for a moment like this, and there is no better way to finish."
"You declared yourself eligible for the draft. How does it feel to close your college career with this victory?"
"It feels incredible," Sammy said. "But also weird, because I still haven't fully processed it. These years went by very fast and suddenly I'm here talking about it being over."
"Any message for the Clemson fans?"
Sammy thought for a second before answering, looking up at the stands still full of people celebrating. "Thank you for everything," he said simply. "We wouldn't have achieved this without you in the stands every week."
The reporter moved toward Tajh, who was a few meters away, still with his helmet under his arm and grass stains on his uniform from the last kneeling play.
"Tajh Boyd finishing his college career with a victory in the Orange Bowl and a performance of 4 total touchdowns tonight. How do you feel at this moment?"
Tajh took a second before answering, his breath still a bit heavy from the adrenaline of the end of the game.
"Grateful," he said finally. "Grateful to this program, to Dabo, to all my teammates during these four years. You don't achieve this alone, you achieve it with a complete team behind you."
"Four years at Clemson, two seasons as a starter, and you end up breaking the ACC touchdown record. Did you ever think you would reach this point when you arrived as a freshman?"
"Honestly, no," Tajh answered with a soft laugh. "When I got here I just wanted a chance to play, I never imagined it would end like this, with an Orange Bowl won and with this group of people by my side in the locker room every week for four years."
"What would you say to the Clemson fans right now?"
"That this program is in very good hands," Tajh answered. "I'm leaving, but what we leave here keeps growing."
As he said that, his gaze shifted briefly toward a corner of the field where a group of first-year players were celebrating among themselves with the confetti still falling around them and Wyatt in the center of that group with his helmet raised in one hand while Laquon shouted something in his ear that Wyatt couldn't fully hear due to the noise of the stadium, but that clearly made him laugh.
Sammy Watkins, who had finished his own interview, had approached that same group, hugging Martavis Bryant and Wyatt almost at the same time with the energy of someone who still hasn't fully processed that his college career had just ended.
"That group right there," Tajh continued, nodding in that direction without the reporter having to ask him anything else, "those freshmen are going to take this further than we took it, I'm sure of it."
The reporter followed Tajh's gaze to where Wyatt was. "Are you referring to Wyatt Sterling?"
"I mean the whole group," Tajh said with a smile. "But yes, him especially."
The broadcast cut back to the studio where the analysts resumed the conversation about what they had just witnessed while on the field the confetti kept falling and Dabo finally managed to get his players to lower him to the ground, though not before pouring a complete cooler of orange Gatorade over him, which caused a general laugh from the whole team, including Dabo, who stood with his hands on his waist and his head coach uniform completely soaked, looking at his team without saying a single word for several seconds.
"I was waiting for that," Dabo said finally, shaking the Gatorade off his arms. "I've been waiting four years for that."
Someone from the staff handed him a towel, which Dabo used more to laugh into than to actually dry himself, while two more players approached to congratulate him with hugs that left even more Gatorade on his clothes.
Wyatt walked over from his group toward where Tajh was still talking with another reporter and waited for him to finish before approaching with his hands still covered in pieces of orange confetti that had stuck to him during the celebration.
"Good game," Wyatt said when Tajh finally turned toward him.
"Yours too," Tajh answered, extending his hand, which Wyatt took in a handshake that turned into a brief hug between the two.
"It's going to be weird next year without you," Wyatt said.
"You're going to be fine," Tajh answered, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "More than fine. Everything you did this season, nobody is going to forget it. And tonight? Tonight is barely the beginning."
"I learned from you," Wyatt said.
"And I learned from you too," Tajh answered. "More than you think."
The two remained silent for a moment with the confetti still falling around them and the noise of the stadium as a constant background before Tajh gave him one last pat on the shoulder and turned toward where Sammy was waiting for him along with the rest of the players who would declare for the draft, for what would probably be the last group photo of that specific team, a group that in a few months would be scattered among different NFL franchises, but that tonight was still Clemson.
Wyatt stood still for a moment longer, looking at the entire field covered in orange confetti, with the scoreboard still illuminated in the distance showing the final result of the night before Laquon appeared at his side, throwing an arm over his shoulders.
"Ready for next year?" Laquon asked.
"No idea," Wyatt answered with a smile.
"Me neither," Laquon said. "But sounds good."
The two remained looking at the field for another moment with the confetti falling between them and the stands still chanting the team's name.
The confetti continued falling over Sun Life Stadium while the ESPN cameras captured image after image of the entire field covered in orange, with the Clemson team celebrating in every corner and the stands still standing, chanting the team's name while some fans began to go down toward the edge of the field despite the efforts of the security staff to contain them.
At some point in that general celebration, Coach Swinney approached the group of freshmen where Wyatt was and gave each of them a pat on the shoulder without saying much beyond "great job tonight," before continuing his way toward where the Orange Bowl trophy was waiting for him, which in a few more minutes the team would raise together with him in front of the cameras of the entire country.
Author thought
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