Clemson gets kick out of wild finish Posted: Tuesday, January 1, 2013 7:00 pm
By The Associated Press
ATLANTA (AP) — Chandler Catanzaro kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired to give No. 14 Clemson a wild 25-24 win over No. 9 Louisiana State in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on Monday night.
Trailing 24-22, Clemson (11-2) took possession on its 20 with 1:39 remaining. Tajh Boyd completed a pass for 26 yards to DeAndre Hopkins on a fourth-and-16 play during the decisive 10-play drive.
“I was ready when the opportunity came to me,” Catanzaro said. “It was next-kick mentality. I was so thankful for the opportunity.”
Catanzaro’s kick set off a wild celebration on the field and in the stands. Some players collapsed on the field in apparent disbelief while most of Clemson’s orange jerseys met in a midfield circle.
Hopkins, who had 13 catches for 191 yards and two touchdowns, also had receptions for 7 and 13 yards in the final drive. LSU safety Greg Reid was flagged for pass interference while defending Hopkins.
Jeremy Hill ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns for LSU (10-3), which carried a 24-13 lead into the final quarter.
Boyd completed 36-of-50 passes for 346 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He set career highs for attempts and completions while winning the game MVP award.
LSU scored 10 points off Clemson’s two lost fumbles, including one by Sammy Watkins on the second play of the game that set up Hill’s first touchdown.
Hopkins scored on an 11-yard reception in the second quarter and a 12-yard grab in the fourth. LSU’s Bennie Logan blocked Catanzaro’s extra point attempt following Hopkins’ first touchdown.
Clemson reached 11 wins for only the fourth time in school history and the first time since the 12-0 1981 team.
SUN BOWL
Georgia Tech 21, USC 7
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Tevin Washington ran for a 1-yard touchdown that broke a third-quarter tie, then threw a TD pass while leading Georgia Tech past Southern California in the Sun Bowl.
USC (7-6) became the first preseason No. 1 team to lose six games. It’s also all but assured of becoming the first school to enter the season on top of The Associated Press poll and finish unranked since Mississippi in 1964.
The Trojans were without injured quarterback Matt Barkley. Max Wittek tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Silas Redd in the second quarter, but also threw three interceptions.
Georgia Tech (7-7) stopped its seven-bowl losing streak. Washington put the Yellow Jackets ahead 14-7 shortly after halftime and added a 17-yard touchdown pass to Orwin Smith in the fourth quarter.
The Trojans struggled to contain Georgia Tech’s triple-option attack. David Sims ran for 99 yards, and the Yellow Jackets rushed for 294 yards overall.
LIBERTY BOWL
Tulsa 31, Iowa St. 17
MEMPHIS (AP) — Trey Watts rushed for 149 yards, Alex Singleton ran for three scores and Tulsa beat Iowa State 31-17 on Monday in the Liberty Bowl, avenging a season-opening loss to the Cyclones.
Iowa State rallied to beat Tulsa 38-23 on Sept. 1, but the Golden Hurricane put together the comeback in the rematch. Tulsa trailed 17-7 at the end of the first quarter.
The Golden Hurricane (11-3) posted the second 11-win season in school history.
Tulsa, which has the smallest enrollment of any Football Bowl Subdivision program, also finished 11-3 in 2008.
Iowa State (6-7) was seeking its second winning season in the last seven years.
Tulsa scored two touchdowns in the first four minutes of the second quarter to pull ahead for good.
Singleton’s three scores gave him a school-record 24 touchdown runs this season. Published in The Messenger 1.1.13 | 
