Filed under: Clemson, Georgia Tech
CLEMSON, S.C. -- For Dabo Swinney, adversity and Georgia Tech are practically synonymous.
Five days after Swinney took the reins of a reeling Clemson program following Tommy Bowden's forced resignation in October 2008, his Tigers battled the Yellow Jackets tooth-and-nail before falling 21-17, largely due to six turnovers.
Last fall, his team suffered a pair of disheartening defeats to Tech. First came a 30-27 loss in Atlanta in a game that saw Clemson spot the Yellow Jackets a 21-0 first quarter lead, rally to take a 27-24 lead and fall following two Scott Blair field goals.
Then came the ACC title game; the Tigers rode C.J. Spiller's 301-yard all-purpose effort for a 34-33 lead with 6:11 left, close enough to smell an Orange Bowl bid. Instead, Tech put together a 13-play, 86-yard touchdown drive for a 39-34 win.
So Saturday, by any measure, didn't get off to a real super start.
Early Saturday morning, the fire alarm went off at the team's hotel, rousing everyone.
When the pregame meal began at 11:30 a.m., Swinney noticed about 12 players were missing.
Turns out, they were stuck in an elevator between the second and first floors. And it wasn't as if these were kickers, cornerbacks or skinny wide receivers. They were offensive linemen and tight ends, some of the biggest players on the roster -- offensive linemen Antoine McClain, Chris Hairston and David Smith and tight ends Dwayne Allen, Chad Diehl and Drew Traylor, among others.
The group was trapped inside the elevator for almost 50 minutes, and the Anderson (S.C.) Fire Department was called to break the door open and hold it open so players could crawl to safety.
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