Where ESPN ranks a legendary Clemson national championship call in Top 25 plays of 2000s |
Brandon Rink
· · Tuesday, June 10 2025
Deshaun Watson's late-second touchdown pass to Hunter Renfrow to top Alabama in the 2016 season's national championship game will be No. 1 in the hearts and minds of the Clemson faithful for quite a while.
ESPN included that 'Orange Crush' call at No. 13 in the Top 25 plays of the 2000s to date. ESPN's Andrea Adelson on the moment: "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." Former Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott talked about the lead-up to that action on TigerNet's 'Orange Crush' podcast recently:
The stunning, national-title-race-altering kick-six for Auburn against Alabama from 2013 topped the ranking.
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