What might have been

In the second quarter of last night's Fiesta Bowl, I couldn't help but think back to Clemson's loss to South Carolina.

Not that anyone wants to relive that, particularly in the immediate afterglow of the epic triumph over LSU. But it did provide a glimpse of what could have been.

There's a good argument to be had in identifying the critical point in Clemson's loss. Was it the second quarter, when the Tigers squandered opportunities to go up two scores? Or was it the second half, when the Gamecocks sucked the life out of the stadium (and out of Clemson's high-powered offense) by holding the ball for an eternity?

In the immediate aftermath, I chose the latter. After thinking about it for a few days, I sided more closely with the former. There's really no right or wrong answer, because both of the developments were monstrous.

Last night provides some strong support for the second-quarter argument. Kansas State was doing exactly what South Carolina did, recovering from an early Oregon blast by methodically chipping away, moving the ball while running clock, and coming up with some stops.

With the score 15-10 in Oregon's favor late in the first half, Kansas State is driving and the clock is ticking and Chip Kelly is feeling almost suffocated at the thought of going into the locker room with just 15 points.

Then Kansas State gets slightly greedy. They try a trick play that results in an incompletion downfield. Then, on the next play, they attempt to throw when Oregon is playing the pass with two deep safeties. Incomplete again.

Those stoppages of the clock end up being huge. Kansas State misses a chip-shot field goal, but Oregon still has a minute to operate. A minute is an eternity with that supercharged offense, and the Ducks zoom down the field for a touchdown that makes it a two-score game at 22-10.

If the half ends on Kansas State's missed field goal and Oregon goes in up just 15-10, is it a different game? We'll never know, but look at what happened when Kansas State came out and took the ball to start the second half. Down 12, they were pushed out of their comfort zone and couldn't be as methodical. They had to press, and Oregon knew they had to press and played their defense schematics accordingly.

What if Clemson goes into the locker room against South Carolina up 21-10 or 24-10 after capitalizing on that cluster of opportunities at midfield? Maybe the Gamecocks take the momentum and win anyway after driving for a score on the first possession of the second half. Because yes, Clemson's linebackers and secondary were that bad in pass coverage that night.

But last night showed us how much different things might have been the night of Nov. 24.

LW