1957
January 1, 1957 – Orange Bowl Stadium
Comeback for Tigers Falls Short
Clemson mounted one of the greatest comebacks in Orange Bowl history, but fell short when Colorado intercepted a pass deep in its territory on the last play of the game.
In that final series, Clemson's Willie Smith recovered a Buffalo fumble at the Colorado 27 with his team trailing 27-21. But the Buff’s Bob Stransky intercepted quarterback Charlie Bussey's pass to save the game.
After a scoreless first quarter, Colorado stormed to three quick touchdowns. The Buffaloes narrowly missed a fourth touchdown and went into the locker room with a 20-0 cushion.
An inspiring speech by Clemson head coach Frank Howard, in which he threatened to resign if he didn't get a better effort from his team, followed. His squad responded with three second-half scores on a pair of runs by Joel Wells and another by Bob Spooner. A shocked Colorado squad saw the Tigers take a 21-20 lead with 11:22 to go.
Although leading, Clemson attempted an onside kick, but Colorado recovered. The Buffaloes marched 53 yards in eight plays and went ahead for good on John Bayuk's second touchdown of the day.
|
|
COLO |
CLEM |
|
First Downs |
16 |
14 |
|
Rushing Attempts |
69 |
44 |
|
Rushing Yards |
279 |
217 |
|
Passes Attempted |
4 |
8 |
|
Passes Completed |
2 |
3 |
|
Had Intercepted |
0 |
2 |
|
Passing Yards |
27 |
25 |
|
Total Offense |
306 |
242 |
|
Punts/Avg. |
5/36.6 |
7/37.9 |
|
Fumbles/Lost |
8/3 |
0/0 |
|
Penalties/Yards |
5/55 |
4/40 |
|
SCORE BY QUARTERS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Colorado |
0 |
20 |
0 |
7 |
- |
27 |
|
Clemson |
0 |
0 |
14 |
7 |
- |
21 |
SCORING SUMMARY
COLO: Bayuk 2-yard run (Indorf kick); COLO: Dowler 6-yard run (Cook kick); COLO: Cook 26-yard run (kick failed); CLEM: Wells 3-yard run (Bussey kick); CLEM: Wells 58-yard run (Bussey kick); CLEM: Spooner 1-yard run (Bussey kick); COLO: Bayuk 1-yard run (Indorf kick)
Colorado Head Coach: Dallas Ward
Clemson Head Coach: Frank Howard