South Carolina, Jadeveon Clowney make ESPN's top plays of 21st century
On Tuesday, ESPN released its “College football’s top 25 plays since 2000.” The story is filled with the biggest and most memorable plays in recent memory. As expected, South Carolina football made the list with a play known around Columbia simply as “The Hit.”
Slotting in at No. 11 was Clowney’s game-changing hit against the Michigan Wolverines in the 2012-2013 Outback Bowl. Frankly, it was an easy choice for the top 25. It also held the record for longest-tenured No. 1 play on SportsCenter’s Top Plays.
Not that Gamecock fans need the reminder, but below is the sequence of plays surrounding The Hit.
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Referenced as “Clowney’s Car Wreck” thanks to Gamecock teammate JT Surratt’s commentary on the play, The Hit came following an incorrect first down that was awarded to the Wolverines after a fake punt was inches short of conversion. On the very next snap after the bad spot, Clowney pinched inside and, untouched, leveled running back Vincent Smith. In doing so, he forced both the football and Smith’s helmet away from their host. The helmet wound up nine yards behind the forward-moving Smith, causing many watching the game to doubt Newton’s second law of motion. Then, Clowney pawed the pigskin with one hand for the recovery, and the Gamecocks took over. One play later, quarterback Connor Shaw found Ace Sanders in the end zone to go ahead in what would become a one-score win for South Carolina.
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Here’s what ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg had to say about the play.
“Jadeveon Clowney was a 6-foot-6, 274-pound, hulking defensive end who became the face of South Carolina’s renaissance under coach Steve Spurrier. He came to South Carolina as the nation’s top recruit and would leave as the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NFL draft. But his most memorable college play came in the 2013 Outback Bowl against Michigan, which led 22-21 midway through the fourth quarter.
“Michigan had possession after a controversial first-down call on a fake punt, and gave the ball to Vincent Smith, its 5-foot-6, 175-pound running back. Clowney rumbled through Michigan’s line untouched and met Smith, who was just receiving the ball. Smith’s helmet and the ball went flying, and Clowney recovered. “It sounded like a car wreck,” South Carolina defensive tackle J.T. Surratt said. South Carolina won 33-28, and Clowney earned an ESPY for the hit.”
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Clowney’s play is arguably the top “ball don’t lie” moment in college football history, and The Hit will live forever in a prominent spot in South Carolina football fans’ memories. Not only did it give the Gamecocks the ball back after one of the worst calls in history, leading to a bowl win, but it clinched USC’s second of three-straight 11-win seasons and another postseason victory over a big-name BIG Ten school.
Clowney’s hit was also part of one of the top two-game stretches ever by a Gamecock defender. In the regular season finale, No. 7 sacked Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd 4.5 times. That effort was instrumental in Carolina’s win over their in-state rivals. Between the two contests, Clowney logged 11 overall tackles and seven tackles for loss. He was the clear top defensive player in the first contest and made the biggest defensive play in the second.
