"Roar, Crimson Tide!"
"Roar, Crimson Tide!"
The whole Richmond Jas Stadium was subrged, enveloped, seized, shaken, spreading mightily across the entire Tampa Bay.
Just when everyone thought the young Sweeney had successfully outsmarted Saban, Saban showed his cunning and wisdom once again.
The suspense, ca back, the suspense over victory and defeat truly returned.
Humphrey leaped, fiercely guarding the football, protecting the possession with his life—
Suppressed throughout the ga, he had been holding it in.
Humphrey was also very dissatisfied with his performance, from the ga against the University of Washington to this one against Clemson University, his performance had not reached the level of regular season. In addition to anxiety, he also felt so self-reproach.
Until now, standing on the edge of a cliff, he finally seized the opportunity for a small act of self-redemption.
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Ah! Ah ah ah!
But this ti, Humphrey didn't celebrate excessively; once the crowd dispersed, he was the first to grab the football and rush to the sideline, thrusting the football into Jacobs' arms, his smile bursting forth.
"Josh, the ga's not over,"
They were still fighting side by side, including the effort that was Jacobs' part.
Jacobs, holding the football, stood there as if petrified.
But Humphrey had already turned to face Li Wei, giving him a big hug, "Buddy, it's up to you guys now."
The heart, it pounded wildly in the chest.
Finally!
The defensive group finally caught up at a critical mont, creating opportunities for the offensive group. Humphrey looked at Li Wei, with so many things to say but not knowing how to start, in the end, he just clenched his fist and hit Li Wei's shoulder hard, "We fight together."
And the captain of the defensive group, Allen, was at the back, arriving belatedly. He still felt sowhat guilty; if the defensive group had found their form earlier, would they have avoided this predicant?
Looking up, Allen saw Li Wei.
Li Wei held out his fist, waiting.
Allen glanced into Li Wei's eyes, calm and confident. A smile also climbed onto his face; a thousand words couldn't compare to a look of understanding. Then he bumped fists with Li Wei to pass the baton—
The task of the defensive group was complete. Now it was up to the offensive group.
Turning around, Allen saw Hertz, looking slightly tense. He smiled, still just a kid. He bumped Hertz's shoulder with his fist, "All of us are standing behind you guys."
Hertz followed Allen's gaze, and seeing the united front of the entire Crimson Tide Storm, his blood rose up to his heart. He couldn't help but clench his fist too, following Li Wei's footsteps onto the field.
The outco hinged on this mont—
Across the field, Watson couldn't sit still, walking back and forth at the edge of the field, full of gloom and anxiety, swearing under his breath.
From being sacked by the opposition to fumbling the ball, the nightmare of spring training camp appeared again. What once was a secure victory now hung on the judgent of fate.
The burden fell on the shoulders of the Clemson Tigers defense team, while all he could do was watch. Watson disliked this feeling intensely, hated it.
Dammit!
Watson was about to explode.
As the turnover from the fumble launched the Alabama Crimson Tide Storm's offensive group straight into action, on Clemson Tigers' 21-yard line, the Red Zone lood close, suspense hanging thick in the air.
And there was 1:09 left on the clock, Saban still had one tiout remaining.
All was possible.
First and ten.
Hertz connected with Wide Receiver Robinson for a five-yard short pass, but the Clemson Tigers defense team was very alert, imdiately moving in to tackle and prevent Robinson from getting out of bounds to stop the clock, forcefully pulling Robinson back before he hit the ground inbounds.
In such monts of the ga, quarterbacks often choose to pass the ball towards the sidelines, using the Wide Receiver's catch to go out of bounds to stop the clock, but this tactic also carries a risk, as the Defensive group may easily predict and position themselves in advance, increasing the chance of an interception.
This also forces the quarterback to be even more accurate with the pass.
Hertz's recent pass, in order to avoid an interception by the Cornerback, had a slightly higher arc, causing Robinson to lose his balance and reach backward to make the catch. This disrupted Robinson's body control, and as a result, he was unable to go out of bounds and stop the clock.
Saban did not hesitate and imdiately used his third tiout.
Second and five.
Hertz deceived the defense with a play-action and once again, Li Wei pushed forward on the ground, advancing five yards to secure a first down.
Because the Red Zone was just ahead, and the Defensive group had started to crowd the short-pass areas, Li Wei, seeing that the paths in front of him were completely blocked by players, did not cling to personal heroism. After securing the first down, he simply went down.
Imdiately after, Hertz unhesitatingly spiked the ball to stop the clock, wasting a down but exchanging it for a pause in the ga ti, giving Saban ti to strategize.
At this mont, the Crimson Tide Storm had reached just eleven yards from the End Zone, a step away from the Red Zone, and also had to face the previously unseen dense defense of the Clemson Tigers defense team.
The difficulty increased drastically.
And with it, the whole situation changed.
Fifty-three seconds left in the ga ti, and with no tiouts remaining, it ant that this spike was their last chance to strategize. After this, there would be no more opportunities; they had to give it their all in one single push.
The air grew tenser and tenser.
Second and ten.
Hertz attempted to find Tight End Howard, hoping to take advantage of the Tight End's size matchup in the short-pass area to overpower the defense. However, the pass was too low, and Howard, catching the football below the knee and thigh level, was unable to turn around and advance. He had no choice but to quickly go down to avoid wasting ti.
Here again, one could see the cunning of Sweeney—
In fact, the Defensive group could disrupt the pass, but by doing so, they would automatically help Alabama Crimson Tide Storm stop the ga ti. Therefore, they deliberately did not close in imdiately, instead allowing Howard to make the catch and then completing the encirclent and interception, letting the ti continue to tick away.
The Alabama Crimson Tide Storm didn't have any ti to catch their breath, they imdiately stood up, lined up, and started the play, everything going into high-speed operation.
Third and seven.
Hertz handed the ball to Li Wei, who attempted to break through the bustling defense, but the Clemson Tigers were ntally prepared for this, using their sheer numbers tactic to completely cut off Li Wei's hopes.
He forced his way through for five yards, but still lacked support afterwards.
Fourth and two.
This was the real desperate situation.
Actually, the choices left for Alabama Crimson Tide Storm were quite clear now; they didn't need to try for a field goal because making it would be aningless. Going for it on fourth down was the only option, success or failure hinging on this single play.
Yet, ti kept flowing away, twenty-five seconds, twenty-four seconds...
With each hesitation and each tension, the door of hope closed a bit more, twenty-three seconds, twenty-two seconds...
Sweeney and Saban were continuously giving hand signals, competing for every precious second to unfold their plans, the suspense of the entire season's victory or defeat hinged on this mont.
Under the watchful eyes of thousands, Clark took the stage.
Everyone: ???
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