"And the game has officially come to an end," said the unmistakable voice of Sean McDonough as he watched the clock officially hit 0:00 and referee Pat Garvey blew the whistle to end the matchup, with the victory firmly secured by the Clemson team.
"49-14" was the score that could be read in large letters on the jumbotrons across the entire arena.
Despite the best efforts of the Syracuse team, they still could not prevent the Tigers team from scoring two more touchdowns in the final two quarters of the game.
"49-14 was the final result of this matchup in which the South Carolina team rose with the victory and keeps their winning streak completely intact," Chris Spielman said, with both men breaking down the summary of the encounter as the cameras from the entire studio focused on them over the JMA Wireless Dome.
"Let's review some of the latest highlights of this matchup," Sean suddenly said, while on the screens of thousands of viewers, the game's highlights began to broadcast.
In the 3rd quarter, when it was the Tigers' offense's turn, Wyatt received the ball to then begin scrambling diagonally toward the right side of the field, causing the Syracuse defense to tilt in his direction as a consequence, thinking that he was indeed going to attempt a solo run.
But right before Wyatt crossed the line of scrimmage, he cocked his arm back and quickly unleashed a pass in the opposite direction, which was hauled in by Laquon, who found himself right between the cornerback and linebacker of the Syracuse team.
Regardless of that, the moment he received the ball, he immediately turned and began to take a few steps before being brought down by both players, but without dropping the ball at any moment, securing the advance for the Clemson team.
That play was a crucial one, since it allowed Clemson to break the stagnation in which they had found themselves since the game resumed with the Syracuse defense playing in a more ferocious manner.
So much so that the Clemson team suffered on their first four downs, with Wyatt even being sacked by one of the defensive tackles without managing to score points.
Fortunately, the Clemson defense—after conceding a 2nd touchdown to the Syracuse team and being chewed out by both Dabo and defensive coordinator Brent Venables—did not allow the Syracuse team to secure any more points either.
"That was one of the most prominent highlights of the game, to be quite honest," Chris said, watching along with the rest of the viewers the play in question, which was repeated in slow motion across all televisions.
"I'll say. At that moment, both the Tigers team and Syracuse had clear trouble advancing, with both defenses putting heavy pressure on the offenses of both teams," Sean replied, being in complete agreement with his partner's words.
"In that aspect, Syracuse was clearly at an advantage; after all, their head coach Scott Shafer is a defensive expert," Chris quickly added while the screen displayed moments of Scott Shafer giving instructions from the sideline.
"But despite that, Clemson managed to score a touchdown in the final minutes of the 3rd quarter following that brilliant play by Wyatt, in which he shifted the defense in his direction before unleashing a quick pass toward Laquon on the other corner of the field." After he said that, Wyatt's statistics for this game began to display on the screen.
Wyatt Sterling (QB)
Passing Yards: 510
Passes: 21/28
Touchdowns: 5
Rushing Yards: 20
Sacks: 1
"Solid statistics which keep him as one of the most efficient players this season," Chris couldn't help but add, seeing the stat line for this game and comparing it with the statistics Wyatt has been stacking up so far this season.
While both analysts continued discussing the most important moments of the game and the season in general, another conversation was taking place down on the field.
Terrell, upon seeing how the game had officially come to an end, couldn't help but let out a sigh while his shoulders, which had been tense, relaxed. "We lost," he murmured in a low voice, but without showing anger in his tone.
From the moment they returned to the locker room trailing by 28 points, he knew it would be nearly impossible to reverse the situation without a miracle occurring to miraculously cause the Clemson team to commit multiple mistakes.
"Hey, good game," said a voice behind Terrell, who upon turning around saw how the player who had caused so many problems for his team was standing by his side, his white uniform completely dirty with field stains but with a friendly smile on his face.
"Likewise," Terrell said with an awkward smile while extending his hand in Wyatt's direction, who shook it equally.
"That run of yours in the 3rd quarter really put our defense in a tough spot," Wyatt said with a smile, remembering how furious Dabo was upon seeing them concede a touchdown and the shouts coming out of Venables' mouth once the defense returned to the sideline.
That comment by itself broke the awkwardness Terrell felt in talking to the player who had caused so many problems for his team.
Following that, a conversation between the two ensued, recalling the plays of the matchup and the most interesting moments of the game.
"That pass you made after you dragged the defense toward the right was something incredible to see," it was Terrell's turn to give a positive comment to Wyatt, who simply accepted it gladly.
"Thanks, it's something I've been working on," he responded to him, remembering the recent practices where he had pitched the idea to Dabo, and little by little they integrated it into the playbook, since it was a good way to break stalemates in a game by drawing the defense to one side to launch the ball to the other.
Without either of them noticing, a person was heading in their direction, followed closely by a cameraman who had the camera ready to record at any moment.
"Terrell, Wyatt, would you mind answering a few questions?" the woman asked once she was close enough to the two, while giving a cordial smile to both quarterbacks of this game.
"No problem with me," Wyatt responded, while Terrell simply nodded in response, and the woman turned to the camera the cameraman was holding.
"I'm Shannon Spake reporting from the field of the JMA Wireless Dome alongside the two quarterbacks of this matchup, Terrell Hunt and Wyatt Sterling," Shannon said with a polite smile to the thousands of viewers tuning into the game.
"Tell us, boys, what did you think of this matchup?" was the first question she threw out while pointing her microphone toward the two players in question.
"Well, what can I say? It was a good game, there were good passes, runs, and I hope it was to the liking of all the people who have been watching it," Wyatt said with a smile, so that the next moment the microphone pointed in Terrell's direction, who immediately grew nervous.
"Uh... well, yeah, the truth is it was a good game," was the only thing Terrell could say, since he still found himself nervous and didn't have much experience being in front of the cameras, much less for a network as massive as ESPN.
"Uh, I think I should get going," Terrell suddenly said as he noticed some of his teammates gesturing for him to come over, finally seizing the opportunity to say goodbye to the cameras and call it a night.
"Haha," upon seeing that, Wyatt couldn't do anything else but laugh under his breath, just like Shannon, who quickly recomposed herself, remembering she was a professional.
"Alright, last question, Wyatt," Shannon said once she recomposed herself, fixing her attention back on Wyatt, who simply straightened up while waiting for the reporter to ask the question.
"Your next game will be against the Boston College Eagles. Tell me, do you expect to win that game and keep the team's winning streak intact for this season?" was the last question Shannon asked before pointing the microphone back in Wyatt's direction, who simply responded quickly.
"Well, it's still too early to say we'll win, but it's clear we will do everything possible to win the game once we go play in Boston next week," Wyatt responded to her with a smile.
"And what do you think of their starting quarterback, Chase Rettig, who to date has 9 touchdowns in 5 games?" was the follow-up question Shannon formulated, seeking to obtain at least some scoop or generate even more hype for the game.
That question left Wyatt not knowing what to say for a few moments, since while Rettig was a senior quarterback, his level wasn't exactly elite, and the Eagles team was coming off a mixed record, stacking up 3 victories and 2 defeats so far this season.
"He's a good opponent," Wyatt began, weighing each of the words he was going to say next. "But even so, that doesn't mean we don't have opportunities to win the next game," Wyatt finished saying with a smile.
"Does that mean you predict a victory for your team against the Eagles?" Shannon said with a smile, already having a potential scoop that would be talked about in the upcoming week.
"I'll just say, wait until we get to the Northeast," was the last phrase Wyatt said before separating from the journalist and returning to celebrate along with the rest of his teammates.
Returning with the rest of his teammates, the celebrations continued while the Syracuse team fans gradually began to abandon the stadium, leaving the Clemson team completely to celebrate their victory.
The celebrations continued as the players headed toward the visitors' locker room, and one of the players plugged in his speaker, with music blasting at full volume in the locker room, livening up the environment inside even more.
Outside the locker room, Coach Dabo listened to all the racket being made inside the room alongside his coaching staff, who held knowing smiles on their faces, imagining how the environment inside must be.
"Let them celebrate a while longer before we have to pull out," Dabo said with a smile while walking away in the direction of the bus that would take them straight to the hotel and then to the airport the following morning.
Inside the locker room, conversations were quick to happen while some of the players were already making plans about what they would do once they left the stadium.
"Hey freshmen, some of us are hitting a bar that's close to the hotel, you guys down?" Sammy asked while wrapping both arms around Wyatt and Laquon, who were sitting down stripping off the team's gear.
"I think I'll pass this time, Sammy, I'm tired," Wyatt told him with a smile on his face while finishing pulling the shoulder pads off his body and setting them aside.
"I'm in," Laquon said, excited at the idea of going to a bar alongside the rest of the team to celebrate the team's victory.
"Come on man, it'll be fun," Laquon said, trying to invite Wyatt to come along with them.
"Maybe next time, man. I promise you that in Boston, I'm definitely going with you guys," Wyatt told them while grabbing his towel and heading in the direction of the team's communal showers.
As Wyatt headed in the direction of the showers, he could hear the conversations of most of the people until finally, with the sound of the showerheads, the noise from the outside was cut off.
Not caring much about the idea of going out for the moment, Wyatt only wanted his bed and to rest until tomorrow morning.
Author thought
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