Stanton Seckinger took a six-yard pass from Tajh Boyd into the end zone Friday, giving No. 12 Clemson a lead to hold for more than six minutes. Mission: accomplished.
Boyd finished 30-of-39 passing for 371 yards as the Tigers defeated No. 7 Ohio State 40-35 in the Orange Bowl.
Tajh Boyd (AP Photo)Sammy Watkins had a record-setting night with 16 catches for 227 yards, converting Boyd's throws into big gains.
Boyd's pass to Seckinger put the Tigers (11-2) ahead to stay. Watkins caught two touchdown passes, plus became Clemson's career receptions leader and set an Orange Bowl record for yardage.
Martavis Bryant caught two more TD passes for the Tigers, who won their first Orange Bowl in 32 years.
Braxton Miller threw for 234 yards and Carlos Hyde ran for 113 more for Ohio State (12-2), which wasted a nine-point second-half lead. Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer lost for the first time in five career trips to the Bowl Championship Series.
For the second time in three years, Clemson fell apart at the Orange Bowl. Only this time, the Tigers found a way to recover. And thanks to Boyd, Watkins and plenty of others, the end result was Clemson's biggest win in a generation.
Miller was intercepted twice in the final 3:12, dooming the Buckeyes. Boyd threw an interception to give Ohio State the ball back, but Miller was picked again — Stephone Anthony made the play for the Tigers — and Clemson ran out the clock.
The Buckeyes had a 29-20 lead in the third after Hyde picked up 31 yards on 4th-and-inches, then went airborne to break the plane of the goal line on the next play.
Then the mistakes started coming in bunches by Ohio State. A fumbled punt return and an interception led to touchdown grabs by Watkins and Bryant, putting the Tigers up entering the fourth.
Hyde caught a 14-yard scoring pass from Miller with 11:35 left, giving the Buckeyes a one-point lead, but Clemson and Boyd went on one last scoring march to give the Tigers the BCS win they've been seeking for years.
When Clemson played in the Orange Bowl two years ago, the Tigers gave up 21 points in the final 2:29 of the first half, letting a close game get blown wide open on the way to a 70-33 loss to West Virginia.
End-of-half mistakes cost Clemson again.
Boyd's three-yard touchdown pass to Bryant had Ohio State facing a 20-9 deficit, but two scores in a 3½-minute span gave the Buckeyes a 22-20 halftime lead. Clemson left Jeff Heuerman wide open down the middle for a 57-yard touchdown pass from Miller, making it a one-score game. And on a drive aided by a 15-yard penalty against Clemson's Darius Robinson, Miller ran in from 3 yards with 12 seconds left to give the Buckeyes their first lead.
And Ohio State had to feel fortunate.
Boyd went 48 yards untouched — his longest career run — for a touchdown that opened the scoring. The Buckeyes tied it on the ensuing drive, catching a break when a third-down sack by Vic Beasley that would have forced a punt was rendered moot by his unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Heuerman pulled off a fake punt later in the drive, and Miller eventually rumbled 33 yards to tie the game.
Boyd found Watkins for a 34-yard score to put Clemson back on top. Ohio State answered with a safety, sacking Boyd one play after Armani Reeves brilliantly downed a punt at the 1, putting the ball on the turf with his left hand as his right hand was touching the orange paint in the Clemson end zone.
Contributing: Associated Press
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