ESPN ranks top 25 college football plays since 2000: Which Clemson moments made list?
After being named Clemson Tigers head coach on a full-time basis in December 2008, Dabo Swinney ushered in not only an era of college football excellence, he created a dynasty.
That dynasty produced six straight ACC titles and subsequent trips to the College Football Playoff, four appearances in the national championship game, and two national titles.
Both of those national championships were won against the Swinney's alma mater, the Alabama Crimson Tide, where Swinney was a walk-on receiver in 1989 and played for legendary coach -- and Bear Bryant protégé -- Gene Stallings.
Under Swinney, Clemson has had no shortage of moments over the past 17 seasons -- and counting -- that Tigers fans can describe in lurid detail from the snap of the ball right up to the final whistle.
Only one of those plays made ESPN's list of the top 25 college football plays from the first quarter of the 21st century, though. The play? The one known as 'Orange Crush.'
Hunter Renfrow's title-winning catch named a top ESPN college football play from past 25 years
ESPN ranked Hunter Renfrow's game-winning touchdown catch with one second remaining against Alabama in the 2017 College Football Playoff Championship at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa as the sport's 13th best play since 2000. The Tigers won their first national championship since the 1981 season with a 35-31 victory over Nick Saban's Crimson Tide.
Renfrow finished the night with a game-high 10 catches for 92 yards. Deshaun Watson threw for 420 yards and three touchdowns on 36-of-56 passing, and the Tigers snapped a 26-game Alabama winning streak.
ESPN's Andrea Adelson described Renfrow's game-winning catch this way:
The play forever known as "Orange Crush" delivered Clemson its second national title in school history in the 2017 national championship game and the first under coach Dabo Swinney. In an epic back-and-forth game, Alabama had scored to go ahead 31-28 with 2:07 left. Plenty of time remaining for the Tigers' offense. Quarterback Deshaun Watson marched them down the field, reaching the 2-yard line with six seconds left.
Watson found Hunter Renfrow in the end zone for the winning score -- thanks, in part, to a rub route Artavis Scott ran to give Renfrow just enough space to get open. Clemson scored with one second left to win 35-31."
Renfrow's catch ranked ahead of the "Bush Push" featuring USC Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush and quarterback Matt Leinart in the Trojans' last-second win over Notre Dame in South Bend in 2005, as well as LSU's "Blue Grass Miracle" against Kentucky 14 years earlier on Nov. 9, 2022 in Lexington.
Should more Clemson highlights have made ESPN's list?
The Tigers' game-winning drive against Ohio State in the 2019 Fiesta Bowl to secure Clemson's fourth national championship game appearance in five years is one that certainly comes to mind.
Trevor Lawrence's 34-yard dump pass to Travis Etiennne with 1:34 to play in Arizona put the Tigers ahead for good in a 29-23 thriller over the Buckeyes to snap a 19-game Ohio State winning streak.
Or how about 11 months earlier in the Bay Area during 'Clemson-Alabama IV?' The Tigers pummeled the Crimson Tide at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara with a dominant 44-16 victory behind a stellar night from Lawrence (347 passing yards, three touchdowns).
The play that started it all? Cornerback A.J. Terrell's 44-yard interception return for a touchdown after picking off Tua Tagovailoa on Alabama's first drive for a 7-0 Tigers lead less than two minutes into the game. Clemson's rout of Alabama made the Tigers the first team in modern college football history to finish 15-0.
Contact us @Clemson_Wire on X, and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news and notes, plus opinions.
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