NASHVILLE — IN THE AFTERMATH of Clemson’s Music City Bowl victory Sunday night, Dabo Swinney did his very best Jim Valvano impersonation. He went searching LP Field for star players, a few flurries of snow falling around him in a moment that seemed surreal.
Swinney first found Jacoby Ford, his senior wide receiver who hauled in a 32-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kyle Parker in the first quarter. The two embraced with Swinney keeping one eye out for the one player he most wanted to share this moment with.
Then Swinney found C.J. Spiller, whose 8-yard touchdown sprint with 10:14 remaining put the finishing touches on Clemson’s 21-13 victory over Kentucky. The two hugged, their heads pressed tightly against each other for a good 30 seconds.
Both emerged with tears in their eyes.
“It’s a great feeling, the experience of winning, taking the trophy back home,” said Spiller, who once again displayed his immense versatility with 67 yards rushing and 58 receiving in the final game of a spectacular Clemson career. He was named the game’s MVP.
Just as it was up to Spiller to lead Clemson throughout a season that concluded with a 9-5 record, it fell on Spiller to best summarize what the bowl victory meant to Swinney and the Tigers’ program.
“This just sets the tone for these guys going into the offseason,” Spiller said. “This gives them some momentum. They can have that winning taste in their mouth, they know what it takes. I wish all those guys all the luck.
“This is what I came here for, to try to change this program around with the group of seniors who came in with me. That’s kind of what we did. Now we’ve got our first bowl win and it should continue.”
One cannot underestimate the importance of the win for Swinney in his first full season as coach. Clemson not only stopped a three-game bowl losing streak, it halted the bleeding from consecutive losses to South Carolina and Georgia Tech.
More than anything, the win meant not having to deal with the general feeling that not much is different under Swinney around Clemson than under the previous coach, Tommy Bowden.
Instead of talking about more of the same, Clemson fans can recognize that the win signals Swinney has his program in position to win championships.
“I can’t say enough about our team as far as what they accomplished, nine wins, winning the Atlantic Division,” Swinney said. “Finishing a bowl game the way they did creates a lot of momentum for us going into the offseason.”
The win did not come easy. Just like USC and Georgia Tech, Kentucky played a solid game of keep-away against Clemson. Kentucky ran 68 plays to 47 for Clemson. The Wildcats kept the ball for nearly 35 of the game’s 60 minutes.
Kentucky’s two first-half scoring drives went 61 and 51 yards in seven plays and 12 plays, respectively. Clemson’s two scoring drives by halftime went 90 yards and 62 yards in four plays and five plays, respectively.
Then the game’s outcome turned on one key play with 11:20 remaining and Clemson clinging to a 14-13 lead. Kentucky quarterback Morgan Newton completed a quick slant pass to receiver Gene McCaskill.
Clemson weakside linebacker Kavell Conner met McCaskill and stripped him of the ball, and nose guard Jarvis Jenkins recovered the fumble at the Kentucky 19-yard-line.
Three plays later, Spiller took a handoff from Parker and took one step toward the line of scrimmage. As he has done countless times in his career, Spiller bounced outside and tip-toed down the right sideline just getting his feet into the end zone for a touchdown.
“I can’t think of a better way to put a stamp on the year than to have C.J. score that final touchdown for us,” Clemson senior tight end Michael Palmer said.
The score made Spiller the only player in the country to reach the end zone in every game this season. It was the 51st touchdown of his career, a school record. But all the eye-opening statistics that Spiller produced and the honors he collected by the boatload only serve as window dressing compared to what he did for Swinney and the Clemson program.
Should Swinney some day guide Clemson to ACC championships and BCS bowl appearances, he will forever reflect back to the one player who helped push his program forward: C.J. Spiller.
On the field afterward, Spiller said the bowl win provided the exclamation mark on his offseason decision to put off professional football for one final season at Clemson. He gave all credit to Swinney for making that decision a good one.
“I’m very glad he sat me down when I was making my decision to either return or go, and he just told me straight,” Spiller said. “You can’t ask for a better coach than that.”
That’s why when the two embraced, Spiller had a few choice words for his coach.
“I love you. I love you, coach,” Spiller said he told Swinney. “I’ll never forget you.”
Nor will Swinney ever forget Spiller.
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