Clemson 25, Louisiana State 24
When: 7:30 PM ET, Monday, December 31, 2012
Where: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
Temperature:
Dome
Head Official:
Dave Witvoet
Attendance:
68027
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 13 Clemson 25, No. 7 Louisiana State 24: Chandler Catanzaro booted a 37-yard field goal as time expired to lift Clemson to victory at the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta.
Clemson (11-2) outscored LSU 12-0 in the fourth quarter, scoring nine points in the final 2:47. DeAndre Hopkins caught 13 passes for a Chick-fil-A Bowl-record 190 yards and two touchdowns. Tajh Boyd completed 35 of 49 passes for 339 yards - although none bigger than the 26-yard strike to Hopkins on fourth-and-16 on the final drive.
Freshman running back Jeremy Hill rushed for a season-high 125 yards on 12 carries and scored two touchdowns for LSU (10-3).
Boyd hit Hopkins on a 12-yard seam route with 2:47 remaining to pull Clemson within two, but then threw incomplete under pressure on the ensuing two-point conversion. LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger threw two incomplete passes on the next possession, allowing Clemson to get the ball back at its 20 with 1:39 remaining and all three of its timeouts.
Despite out-gaining LSU 240-95 in total yards during the first half, Clemson still trailed at the break for the first time this season. Hopkins caught an 11-yard touchdown reception from Boyd with 5:43 remaining in the first half, but the extra-point attempt was blocked - leaving Clemson behind 14-13.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Hopkins finished with 1,404 receiving yards this season, breaking the school’s single-season record set last year by teammate Sammy Watkins (1,243). Watkins suffered a right ankle injury on the second play against LSU and did not return, finishing the season with 708 receiving yards. … LSU punter Jamie Keehn, who replaced suspended All-American Brad Wing, averaged 44.4 yards on nine punts. … Catanzaro had made 143 of 145 extra points in his three-year career before his second-quarter kick was blocked by defensive lineman Bennie Logan.
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
| |
Yards |
Scoring |
Defense |
| Team |
Tot |
Rus |
Pas |
TD |
FG |
INT |
Sck |
FF |
| Louisiana State
|
219 |
99 |
120 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
6.0 |
3 |
| Clemson
|
445 |
99 |
346 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
8.0 |
0 |