Clemson defense shuts down UVa

By Bart Isley

Published: November 23, 2008

It didn’t lock Virginia down immediately, but Clemson’s defense certainly turned the tide after a rocky first quarter during the Tigers’ 13-3 win in a defensive struggle Sunday.

Virginia controlled nearly everything but the score in the opening frame, holding onto the ball for 10 minutes and 26 seconds of the quarter. Virginia gained 53 yards to Clemson’s 38 and got exactly what it wanted when it took the ball to start the contest, pinning the Tigers on their own eight yardline.

Clemson was nothing short of dominant defensively for the majority of the game after the first drive, forcing four turnovers starting with the interception that led to C.J. Spiller’s halfback pass for a touchdown.

“To give up just three points is a great accomplishment against an offense like they’ve got,” said Clemson’s Michael Hamlin, who had one of three Clemson interceptions and led the Tigers in tackles. “To hold them under 200 yards was our goal.”

Mission accomplished. Virginia finished with 190 yards in the contest, struggling for the final three quarters as Clemson exerted a 27:26 to 17:34 advantage in time of possession over the final three frames.

Finally, an early stop

Virginia forced Clemson to punt from its own 29-yard line on the Tigers’ opening drive of the game. The stop by Virginia’s defense was a significant one — it was the first time the Cavaliers’ opponent didn’t score on its opening possession in six games. East Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Miami and Wake Forest all scored on their first possession.

Ogletree’s strong half

Kevin Ogletree, who was honored with his classmates during the pregame senior ceremony despite having another year of eligibility left, had a nice day if indeed this was his final game at Scott Stadium. Ogletree hauled in 73 yards on six catches, including a couple of crucial catches for first downs during the Cavaliers’ first half scoring drive. He also drew a pass interference call during that drive that ended in a Robert Randolph field goal.

Ogletree also kept alive his 23-game multi-catch streak that dates back to the 2006 season.

He was called for an unfortunate offensive pass interference penalty on what initially appeared to be a 53-yard touchdown pass with about two minutes left in the third quarter. The call erased what would have been a game-tying score with the extra-point.

“I thought maybe we had a hold back there or something because I felt strong about the play, I didn’t think I did anything wrong,” Ogletree said. “The referee did his job, he threw the flag and he thought he saw a penalty.”

Extra points…
The temperature was 35 degrees at kickoff for the game. It was the coldest temperature for a kickoff at Scott Stadium since records were available starting in 1966. … Spiller’s passing touchdown was the first toss of his career and earned him an interesting spot in the Tigers’ record book. He’s one of just four players in Clemson history to score four different ways, joining Chansi Stuckey, Ray Matthews and Jackie Calvert. …Twenty-four players were recognized prior to the start of today’s game in a ceremony to mark Senior Day. Antonio Appleby, Will Barker, Denzel Burrell, Jon Copper, Maurice Covington, Kevin Crawford, Scott Deke, Andrew Dewey, Alex Field, Jason Fuller, Byron Glaspy, Eugene Monroe, Rashawn Jackson, Brandon Jarvis, Cary Koch, Kevin Ogletree, Cedric Peerman, John Phillips, Crutcher Reiss, Hall Simmons, Clint Sintim, Patrick Slebonick, Zak Stair and John Thornton were all recognized. … Former Virginia star Bill Dudley raised the Power of Orange flag during UVa’s pregame ceremonies.