Rex Brown/Courtesy The Journal

Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson fights for extra yardage as Oklahoma’s Matthew Romar struggles to maintain a grip on his jersey during the Tigers’ 37-17 win over the Sooners in the Orange Bowl on Thursday in Miami Gardens, Fla. The victory gave Clemson a berth in the College Football Playoff national championship game, which will pit the Tigers against Alabama on Monday.

Clemson’s Gallman, Watson run wild in playoff semifinal victory

By Robbie Tinsley
Courtesy The Journal

rtinsley@upstatetoday.com

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Clemson came out of the locker room for the second half running, and the Tigers won’t stop until they get to Glendale, Ariz.

Clemson running back Wayne Gallman finished with 150 yards — 111 after halftime — with two second-half touchdowns and quarterback Deshaun Watson added 145 yards on the ground to send the Tigers to the national championship game with a 37-17 victory over Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl on Thursday.

“The second half was my time,” Gallman said afterward. “I knew the defense was worn down and it was time to go to the run.”

Clemson trailed 17-16 at halftime after a first half riddled with missed opportunities on the offensive side of the ball. But the first drive of the second half started with an 11-yard run by Gallman to set the tone for a 12-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard plunge by the sophomore back.

Clemson never relinquished the lead to Oklahoma (11-2) again.

Head coach Dabo Swinney went to read off Gallman’s stat line in the postgame news conference and did a double take.

Rex Brown/Courtesy The Journal
Clemson senior receiver Charone Peake celebrates after making a catch against Oklahoma.

“Wayne Gallman was relentless in the second half,” he said before starting to laugh. “(150 yards)? Are you kidding me? He’s got 1,500 yards for the year and he’s just a sophomore. … People sooner or later are going to realize that Wayne Gallman is pretty special.”

Swinney wasn’t far off on Gallman’s season total; the sophomore now has 1,472 yards — a new single-season program record, as he broke Raymond Priester’s previous total of 1,345 in 1995.

The Tigers will take on Alabama in the national championship game on Monday night in Glendale. The Crimson Tide earned their way into the title game with a 38-0 shellacking of Big Ten champion Michigan State on Thursday in the Cotton Bowl.

Oklahoma came out of the gates hot against the Tigers with a 10-play, 75-yard drive which ended with a 1-yard run by Samaje Perine, who rushed for 33 yards on the drive. The Sooners’ clear intent was to set the tone for the rest of the game.

But Perine — a 1,300-yard rusher for the season — only added 25 more yards to his total on a night that included a second-half ankle injury.

Clemson had its first chance to respond on its second drive, but the Tigers stalled in the red zone and had to settle for Greg Huegel’s 26-yard field goal. It was the first of three trips inside the 20-yard line that didn’t end in touchdowns — Huegel added a 36-yarder to go with his long on the night of 43, and Watson forced a pass toward Jordan Leggett right before halftime which was intercepted by Oklahoma’s Zack Sanchez.

Clemson’s lone red zone success of the first half was a 5-yard touchdown run by Watson, which came after a 31-yard completion from punter Andy Teasdall to defensive tackle Christian Wilkins on fourth-and-4 from the Clemson 44-yard line.

Co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott put the Tigers’ first-half red zone struggles on himself, saying he “pressed a little bit and probably should have run the ball a little bit more in the red zone.” He said the offensive line told him the running scheme that was working, and he rolled with that.

“I said, ‘look, boys — we’re going to get back to doing what we do,’” he said. “‘This is what you want, so I’m going to put it on your shoulders.’”

An 11-yard run by Gallman with the first play of the second half was foreshadowing for the rest of the contest.

“We could tell in that moment that they were done,” offensive tackle Eric Mac Lain said. “Physically and maybe even a little bit mentally. We were just running all over them. Wayne and Deshaun just really dominated.”

Gallman carried it four times for 23 yards on the drive, which included a big third-down conversion from Watson to Hunter Renfrow in the red zone and ended with the first of Gallman’s two touchdowns to give Clemson a 23-17 lead.

The game fully swung on a fourth-and-1 with Oklahoma driving midway through the third quarter after a missed field goal by Huegel. The Sooners were at the Clemson 30 and tried a direct snap to Perine, who couldn’t convert the first down.

The Tigers started the ensuing drive with a 21-yard run by Gallman and four plays later, Watson looked for Renfrow on an out route and rocketed the ball to the freshman. The Sooner defender overcommitted and Renfrow was able to cruise into the end zone with a 35-yard score.

With his two main running backs Perine and Joe Mixon ailing, Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield threw two interceptions to Clemson linebackers B.J. Goodson and Ben Boulware on either side of Gallman’s second touchdown — a 4-yard run — and a once back-and-forth affair turned into a Clemson rout.