Clemson’s top moment against each 2026 opponent, Part 1: 4th-and-16 vs. LSU

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Being in the heart of the summer, we’re breaking down Clemsonfootball’s most impactful moment against each of its 2026 opponents. This is Part 1, featuring the Tigers’ unforgettable 4th-and-16 conversion against LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

This is probably the easiest choice on the list.

Clemson’s victory over LSU on New Year’s Eve in 2012 remains the program’s only win over the Tigers in Baton Rouge. Dabo Swinney’s team entered the bowl at 10-2, with its only losses coming against Florida State and South Carolina, the two programs that served as the biggest roadblocks during the early years of his tenure.

Clemson was coming off a 10-4 season in Swinney’s first full year as head coach and was looking to take another step forward by earning a New Year’s Six victory. Over the next few seasons, the Tigers would land stars like Deshaun Watson, Ben Boulware, Mike Williams, Tee Higgins, and the famed “Power Rangers” recruiting class. National championships would eventually become the standard, while ACC titles became almost routine.

But none of that had happened yet.

At the time, Clemson was stuck in a frustrating middle ground. The Tigers were talented enough to knock off elite teams and consistent enough to beat the opponents they were supposed to, but they couldn’t quite break through when the stakes were highest.

The 2012 season only added to that frustration. Clemson climbed as high as No. 10 in the rankings and held a fourth-quarter lead over No. 4 Florida State, with a chance to enter the national title conversation. The Tigers couldn’t finish the job. Later that year, they had another opportunity to end their losing streak against South Carolina, but fell short again.

The Chick-fil-A Bowl presented one more chance to prove Clemson belonged on the national stage, and late in the fourth quarter, it looked like another opportunity was slipping away.

Facing 4th-and-16 with 1:22 remaining and trailing 24-22, Tajh Boyd lined up in the pistol with a 2×2 formation. He delivered a strike to DeAndre “Nuk” Hopkins, who found the soft spot in LSU’s zone coverage and moved the chains. The drive stayed alive, and moments later Chandler Catanzaro drilled the game-winning field goal as time expired.

That play became one of the defining moments of the Swinney era, signaling that Clemson was finally ready to turn close calls into signature victories. The Tigers went on to build one of the nation’s premier programs over the next decade.

Now, they’ll have a chance to open another chapter when they face LSU once again to begin the 2026 season.

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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Clemson’s top moment against each 2026 opponent, Part 1: 4th-and-16 vs. LSU

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