With total composure and concentration, Wyatt adjusted the helmet over his head, stepping back onto the field while all his teammates began to line up in their positions, ready to return to the game after the defense had done its job of preventing the Syracuse offense from managing to reach the end zone.
Nonetheless, the moment Wyatt along with the rest of his teammates entered the field, they were immediately greeted by a barrage of insults and shouts from the Syracuse team's fans.
"Booo!" was the widespread roar heard throughout the stadium.
"You're going to fail!!" was the shout of one of the Syracuse team fans, bringing a hand to his mouth, hoping his voice would manage to be heard over that of the entire crowd of people who were in the venue at that moment.
"Don't expect to leave here alive!" shouted a more radical person, throwing his beer cup to the ground, completely letting out the frustration he felt at that moment.
"It seems that the Syracuse fans are beginning to feel the fear of defeat," Sean McDonough said, looking directly into the camera to the thousands of viewers who at that moment found themselves tuning into the broadcast of the game.
"And it's no wonder, Sean. Having your team losing 7-0 with 10 minutes remaining until the first half ends is a very sensitive situation for most teams," Chris Spielman continued, while on the field the ball was already in play.
Receiving the ball, Wyatt secured it in his hands, taking a few steps back and cocking his arm to unleash a quick throw in the direction of Laquon, who was at a distance of 8 yards behind the line of scrimmage where both teams clashed.
As soon as Laquon caught the ball, he felt how the cornerback who was at his side brought him down to the ground, so securing the ball against his chest, Laquon prepared for the tackle while firmly holding the ball, ensuring that the Clemson team gained 4 yards on their first down.
Getting to his feet, Laquon returned the ball to referee Pat Garvey while he regrouped with the rest of his teammates for 2nd and 6, receiving slaps on the helmet and nods of agreement.
"Set hut!" Wyatt shouted without wasting a single second to continue with the game immediately.
But on this occasion, the offensive line was not fast enough, allowing cornerback Brandon Reddish to break through the line of scrimmage and head immediately in Wyatt's direction.
Seeing that out of the corner of his eye, Wyatt knew he had barely a few seconds to execute the play before being sacked, wasting a down, and losing yardage.
Without even having time to properly set his throwing arm, Wyatt launched the ball in the direction where Sammy was located, since he trusted in the abilities of the team's star receiver.
Without being able to see the play, Wyatt felt how he was immediately brought down by the player who was heading straight toward him, ending up on the ground but relieved to have thrown the ball before it was too late.
Wyatt's pass ended up drifting from the direction where it was supposed to head, which did not go unnoticed by either Sammy or the Syracuse team's safety, both of whom immediately began to head toward the direction where the ball was traveling.
Predicting the spot where the ball was heading, Sammy began to accelerate immediately, just like the safety, with neither of the two willing to slow down or back off, since both had only one objective in mind: "Get the ball."
Suddenly, one player leaped with all his might forward, managing to get hold of the ball.
Nonetheless, the moment the player secured the ball, he immediately ended up crashing to the ground due to losing his balance when he tilted his body seeking to make the catch.
Nonetheless, although he fell to the ground, at no moment did he drop the ball, keeping it firmly secured.
The referee, upon seeing that, immediately made a signal with his hand indicating that the pass had been complete, causing the safety to begin complaining to him, just like most of the Syracuse players on the field who believed that the pass had been incomplete.
Getting up, Sammy immediately slammed the ball hard against the ground before starting to celebrate under the watchful eyes of the fans in the stadium and viewers who had seen the play.
"And there you have it, coming out of a risky situation, Wyatt Sterling manages to unleash a pass that ended up being caught by the Tigers team's star receiver, Sammy Watkins," Sean said, his voice being heard on the viewers' screens while the play in question was repeated in slow motion.
"And what a catch by Watkins! Not for nothing is he projected as one of the top 10 picks of the next draft, but if he keeps demonstrating this high level this season, it wouldn't be any surprise if he ends up among the top 5," Chris quickly added once the screen returned to show both commentators with the football field in the background.
"The most surprising thing was Wyatt's composure, since any freshman player in his situation would have panicked upon seeing how a 190-pound cornerback approaches him, ready to bring him down."
With the advantage they had gained, the Clemson team now found themselves 30 yards away from the end zone, putting even more pressure on the Syracuse defense, who were feeling the strain more and more.
"Very well, Sterling, keep it up. Maintain the offense just as you have it now," Dabo said through the earpiece inside Wyatt's helmet, who said nothing, simply focusing back on the game they were playing right now.
"Alright guys, now we need to burn some clock, so let's test the ground game now," Wyatt explained at the center of the huddle while all the players simply nodded, having full confidence in the decisions Wyatt made.
In these recent games, Wyatt had gradually been winning the trust of the more veteran players on the team upon seeing how he dedicated himself and trained in total concentration.
"Let's go," was the last word Wyatt pronounced before everyone took their positions.
On this occasion, as soon as Wyatt received the ball, he handed it off to C.J. Davidson, the team's second running back, who immediately began to run diagonally toward one of the corners of the field, while the defensive end from that side immediately headed in the same direction, seeking to bring him down before he crossed the line of scrimmage and caused Clemson to waste a down.
But before he reached the corner, C.J. planted his feet hard, relying on his core strength to then abruptly change direction, catching the defensive end off guard, who having a heavier center of gravity, could not turn in time.
Slipping past the defensive end, C.J. managed to cross the line of scrimmage while the outside linebacker approached, seeking to tackle C.J., who accelerated again, looking to leave the outside linebacker behind.
But the middle linebacker also leaned in his direction, seeking to support his teammate, thus managing to tackle C.J. and putting an end to the Clemson team's first down, but not without allowing him to gain 4 yards in the process.
Without losing any time, the Clemson team took their positions again to keep advancing, while the Syracuse defense became increasingly restless at the possibility of losing by two touchdowns in the first quarter.
"The situation is getting out of hand for us," Coach Shafer could not help but murmur in a low voice, while his foot did not stop moving in a clear sign of anxiety upon seeing how his defense, of which he was so proud, was crumbling.
He had spent this whole year focusing especially on the team's defense; after all, before becoming head coach, he had been the team's defensive coordinator, which was why his strength had always been the defense.
"Offense wins games, defense wins championships." That legendary phrase once said by the celebrated coach Paul "Bear" Bryant remained engraved in Coach Shafer's mind the first time he heard it.
For that reason, he had always leaned more toward the defense, believing that if he had an unbreakable defense, he could lead the Syracuse team to win championships and make a name for themselves in the NCAA, and who knows, maybe one day reach the NFL.
"Don't despair, try to prevent them from continuing to advance," Coach Shafer said, bringing a hand to the headset over his head, giving indications to the middle linebacker, who was the leader of the team's defense and his most trusted player on the field.
The middle linebacker only grunted in response with frustration right at the surface, knowing the bad situation his team found themselves in and how their defense was being punished by the Clemson players.
"And it seems that from what we are seeing so far, Clemson is close to securing a second touchdown," Sean said, seeing how gradually the Tigers' offense approached the end zone without any trouble.
"Syracuse should look into how to adjust their defense in the next few minutes before it's too late," said Chris, who along with the rest of the people saw how indeed the Syracuse defense was crumbling.
"You took the words right out of my mouth, Chris, and that is even more important coming from a program which depends exclusively on its defense, since the Syracuse offense cannot compare at all to its defense," Sean continued with the conversation.
On the other hand, on social media, a huge debate was taking place with several internet users giving their opinions about the game and how it seemed Clemson was about to cause another great slaughter today.
@sanchez.r: Clemson is about to slaughter Syracuse @clemson keep it up!
@Syracuse.fan77: As a fan of this team, I can't help but feel helpless seeing how the team is losing ground on our own field.
@gooldberg.s: This wouldn't have happened if Doug Marrone were still in charge, please team fire Shafer and hire someone better.
Comments like those were read across social media platforms like Twitter, making it clear that several people were already giving up on the team upon seeing how their defense could not counter the Tigers' offense.
And the situation being lived on the field did nothing but make what many thought become reality, upon seeing how the Clemson offense managed to advance until being only 9 yards away from the end zone.
A position which was very advantageous for the Clemson team, since if they didn't manage to reach the end zone, they would at least secure a field goal with great certainty from that distance, adding points either way regardless of the outcome.
Without any difficulty, Wyatt threw a pass straight to the end zone again, which was caught by Seckinger before being brought down by the cornerback who was behind him, but even so, he could not prevent him from landing in the end zone, adding another 6 points to the Clemson team.
13-0 current score.
Without saying anything more, the Clemson team celebrated while the special teams unit entered and kicked the ball right through both uprights, adding an extra point and increasing the lead they had against Syracuse.
14-0 current score.
At that moment in the stadium, some students were already standing up, ready to leave the stadium, knowing that their team's offense was not the most reliable and much less could it recover from a disadvantage like that in the upcoming quarters.
"And there you have it, another touchdown for Clemson, which puts Syracuse even further between a rock and a hard place," Sean said.
Authors thought
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