Oct. 1, 2001
On consecutive days September 29-30, 2001, Clemson athletes recorded some of the most dramatic plays in the school’s history to provide the school with thrilling victories.
On September 29th, Clemson quarterback Woodrow Dantzler scored on an 11-yard run on the last play of overtime to give the Tiger football team a 47-44 victory over 9th ranked Georgia Tech in Atlanta. It culminated quite a day for Dantzler, who had 418 yards of total offense, second highest total in school history. Earlier he had connected with J.J. McKelvey on a 63-yard touchdown pass on a 4th and 13 play with just 1:58 remaining to give Clemson a 41-38 lead.
It marked the fourth time in Clemson history that the Tigers had won a contest on the last play of the game. David Treadwell did it twice, a 36-yard field goal to beat Virginia Tech in 1985 and a 46-yard field goal to beat Georgia in 1986. Rahim Abdullah returned an interception 63 yards for a touchdown on the last play of overtime to give Clemson a 29-20 win over
On September 30th, Clemson golfer D.J. Trahan birdied the final hole in the final group to give Clemson a one-shot victory at the Ping/Preview Invitational in Columbus, GA. The field included 10 of the top 12 teams in the nation and the event is considered the top regular season golf tournament each year. Trahan made an 18-foot putt to give Clemson the one-stroke win over ACC rival Wake Forest.
These two accomplishments have to rank with some of the clutch performances in Clemson history. Here are some others:
Men’s Soccer-Clemson forward Jimmy Glenn scored an unassisted goal with just one second left to give Clemson a 2-1 victory at #1 ranked Virginia on October 10, 1993. It remains the latest game-winning goal in Clemson soccer history.
Men’s Basketball-Greg Buckner scored a dunk over North Carolina’s Antawn Jamison with 0.6 seconds left to give Clemson a 75-73 victory over North Carolina in the first round of the 1996 ACC Tournament in Greensboro. It was the first win for the Tigers over the Tar Heels in the ACC Tournament.
Women’s Basketball-Peggy Sells hit a four-foot shot with one second remaining in the 1992 NCAA Tournament round of 16 game at Philadelphia’s famed Palestra. The shot gave Clemson a 57-55 victory and allowed the Tigers to move to the NCAA Regional Finals for the first time in school history.
Men’s Tennis-Richard Akel smashed home a winner in the tie breaker of the third set to give Clemson a 5-4 victory over 14th ranked Georgia on April 6, 1983. Akel’s winner, gave Clemson an 8-6 win in the third-set tie breaker. He teamed with Gregg Cooper to give the Tigers a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 win at the #1 doubles match, the last match on the courts that day. Georgia’s team of Miller and Maumquist, ranked eighth in the nation at the time, had led 6-5 and was serving for the match in the tie breaker before Clemson came back to win.
Baseball-Jeff Morris hit a grand-slam home run in the bottom of he eighth inning to give Clemson an 11-7 lead and victory over NC State in the 1993 ACC Tournament championship game at Greenville, SC. It was the second and final grand slam of Morris’s career, both came off the same NC State pitcher. The victory qualified the Tigers automatically for the NCAA Tournament.
April 17, 2024
