After that pass, Wyatt along with the rest of the Clemson Tigers' offense got back into position, but more in a symbolic way since only a few seconds remained on the clock. The moment the ball reached Wyatt's hands, the referee's whistle blew, ending the 3rd quarter of the game, causing both the Tigers and Bulldogs teams to head toward their respective benches to quickly listen to the tactical adjustments from both coaches.
Taking his helmet off his head, Wyatt ran a hand through his hair while joining the huddle of players surrounding both Dabo and Chad, who, seeing that the entire offense had gathered, began to explain the strategy for the next offensive series.
"Alright, everyone pay attention," Dabo told them while the players simply nodded in response, knowing they had little time before they had to return to the field and resume the offensive series.
"We have another 15 minutes remaining, so it's not necessary to play in such a hurried way," Dabo told them while reviewing his clipboard, on which he had the team's playbook commands and plays noted down. "I want you to play in a slow and steady way with short passes and runs; after all, we have the lead, and the less time we give them, the better," Dabo finished telling his players, who nodded in affirmation.
On the other hand, on the Georgia Bulldogs' side: "I need you to defend and steal the ball from that rookie if you can," Mark Richt said to his entire defensive unit, which had been careless in the previous possession, allowing the tigers to advance another 16 yards after having lost the 18 yards following the interception.
"Bailey!!" the coach suddenly shouted, calling the cornerback who had allowed Sammy to manage another 10-yard run after Wyatt's 6-yard pass at the end of the third quarter.
"I need you to concentrate and mark Sammy with more intensity, do you understand?" Coach Richt asked him with a serious look that said, "Do it or I won't hesitate to replace you with another player." At that, Jon Bailey could do nothing else but nod in a sign of understanding.
After that, the referee blew the whistle again, indicating that the break was over and that the players had to return to the field. "We're going to win," Coach Richt said while bringing his fist to the center of the circle formed by the players, who, seeing that, placed their hands one over the other. "Go Dawgs!!" the coach shouted along with the rest of the team, the iconic phrase of Georgia's sports teams.
"And now we return here to Memorial Stadium for what will be the last quarter of this exciting game," said the match analyst directly into the camera through which thousands of people were tuned into the encounter.
"For those who just turned on their televisions, we find ourselves in the final stretch of Tigers vs. Bulldogs, in which the Tigers lead by 3 points with the score at 31-28," he continued narrating, giving a brief summary of what had happened in the match.
"The surprise was undoubtedly the substitution of Tajh Boyd for the rookie quarterback from Texas, Wyatt Sterling, who had a solid debut with a short 6-yard pass to Sammy Watkins, who took advantage of that to cover another 10 yards, with only 55 yards remaining to reach the end zone," the analyst finished summarizing. "The question is, can Sterling manage to lead the team to the end zone, or will he be intimidated by the Bulldogs' defense?" he finished asking with a smile of expectation while the cameras pointed back to the field.
"Alright guys, we already know what to do," Wyatt shouted, clapping to the whole team while he also put himself in position behind his offensive line, ready to begin with the play that Dabo along with Chad had devised.
"Set Hut!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, receiving the ball in his hands while dropping back more than necessary while the line of scrimmage became chaos with several bodies colliding and with the Bulldogs' defense seeking in every possible way to sack Wyatt.
Wyatt immediately handed the ball to senior running back Roderick McDowell, who, upon receiving the ball from Wyatt's hands, began to run diagonally, seeking to dodge the line of scrimmage and manage to advance more yards than required.
While that was happening, Bailey realized that the Tigers' running back was running straight toward his flank, which is why he was already heading straight toward him, seeking to tackle him before he advanced more than he should. Unfortunately for him, Sam Cooper, the team's tight end, was also aware of the play, which is why he intercepted Bailey before he could even get close to McDowell, allowing him to escape directly down the flank and manage to advance more yards.
Dodging Cooper, McDowell was able to advance some extra yards before the safety tackled him, ending up gaining 8 valuable yards for the Tigers' team with a 2nd and 2 to be able to get a new defensive opportunity.
While that was happening, Dabo saw the scoreboard clock from the sideline and saw that effectively only 13:30 remained for the game to end, which means that in this play they wasted 1 minute and 30 seconds and had not yet achieved another 1st and 10.
"The kid knows how to control the game," Chad added from the sideline, watching with satisfaction how the players successfully applied the strategy for this quarter, which consisted of series of short passes and long runs seeking to burn the greatest amount of time possible to put the entire Georgia offense in a bind.
Dabo did not say a word as he was on the sideline with his arms crossed and his eyes on the field. Bringing a hand to the microphone of the headset he wore on his head, he began giving instructions to Wyatt. "On the next play, make a short pass to Seckinger," he told him, only to then receive a thumbs-up from Wyatt, who understood the instructions.
"Black 50! Black 50!" Wyatt shouted to the entire offensive unit on the field before putting himself in position for the second down.
As soon as his hands gripped the ball, he immediately threw it toward Stanton Seckinger, who with great skill secured the ball only to then be tackled by the cornerback behind him, but at no moment did he drop the ball, so the pass was considered complete.
"And there you have it, Wyatt Sterling with a 3-yard pass which is immediately caught by Stanton Seckinger to get a new 1st and 10 for the tigers' team," said the analyst while the play was repeated on the stadium screens.
"That's it, let's go!" shouted a Tigers fan who was shirtless and had his entire upper body painted orange and black.
On the other hand, from the field, the cheerleaders began to do their routine along with "The Tiger," who was the university team's mascot, who began to do acrobatics along with the cheerleaders to the joy of the fans present in the stadium.
"Only another 34," Wyatt thought upon seeing the mark where they would start the new offensive series along with the rest of the team, who without saying a word had returned to their positions on the field, waiting for instructions.
As in the last offensive series, Wyatt again received the ball and again tried to pass it to the receiver, but this time both he and the receiver miscalculated the distance and the pass ended up falling to the ground before either team could get it, which is why the referee blew the whistle quickly signaling that the pass was incomplete.
The receiver immediately raised his thumb in a clear sign toward Wyatt, giving the understanding that it had been his fault, but Wyatt brushed it off while returning to his spot and the play was restarted from the same point as the previous time.
On this occasion, Wyatt did not want to take risks, which is why he received the ball and began to run, seeking to take the Bulldogs' defense by surprise and being helped by the Tigers' offensive line, who managed to open a space for him through which Wyatt managed to cross the line of scrimmage before being tackled by Chase Vasser, the linebacker, who upon seeing him crossing the line of scrimmage did not hesitate to bring him down while Wyatt managed to add 4 yards for his team for a 2nd and 6.
Following with the ground game, this time Wyatt along with McDowell performed intercalated runs seeking to take the Bulldogs team by surprise, who for a brief lapse did not know which of the two had the ball.
With the Bulldogs' defense slightly disoriented by the confusion, both players ran forward from both flanks while the Bulldogs, upon recovering from their shock, immediately separated into two units seeking to tackle both before they achieved a new opportunity.
After the tackle of both, it was revealed that McDowell was the one holding the ball and the one who had run fastest trying to cross the line of scrimmage, but he only managed to advance 4 yards with 2 yards remaining on the third down to be able to renew the 1st and 10.
Unable to watch that any longer, Coach Richt signaled to the referee asking for a timeout while with his hands he signaled to his players to approach quickly. The Tigers, on the other hand, advanced calmly toward their side since Coach Dabo did not need to make more adjustments and the team was following the instructions he had given them before the 4th quarter began to the letter.
"They want to burn time," Coach Richt said immediately while looking with a somber face at the scoreboard clock, which showed that 9:45 minutes of time remained.
At that, Richt approached his defensive coordinator, with both racking their brains seeking any possible solution, since attempting a blitz every time would make the defense even more tired, and if they did that and the pace increased, he did not trust the defense to hold for another series considering most had been playing most of the time.
"Any suggestions?" Richt suddenly turned his head toward his defensive coordinator, who also felt how the rest of the defensive team directed their gaze toward him.
"I..." the defensive coordinator began while looking at the clipboard, seeking any of the defensive plays from the playbook that could serve him at this moment.
"Maybe if we add one more safety and play the dime formation," the defensive coordinator muttered, while Coach Richt simply nodded at that idea and called an extra safety who approached the group while Coach Richt began to explain the play to him.
While that was happening, the Tigers' bench was more relaxed with the players recovering and rehydrating after a very grueling game. Wyatt, on the other hand, was sitting while carefully reading his wristband with most of the plays noted on it, thinking about what would be the best option for this 3rd down.
"Treadwell!" suddenly Dabo's voice was heard throughout the group, causing Laquon to instinctively stand up from his spot and approach him. "You're going in for the next play," was the only thing he told him, before Laquon, who was left briefly with a blank mind.
Once he processed the news, Laquon found himself celebrating without being able to help it until he felt how most of the players present had their gaze fixed on him, causing a trace of embarrassment to appear on his face.
Some saw him with ironic smiles, identifying with the emotion the rookie felt at that moment, while others rolled their eyes, concentrating on the game since the referee had again blown his whistle, indicating that the timeout had come to an end and it was time for the players to return to the field.
"Congratulations bro," said Wyatt, who had already put himself next to Laquon and extended his fist, which Laquon bumped with his own before both adjusted their helmets and entered the field.
"And it seems that the Tigers have again made a change with rookie receiver Laquon Treadwell entering the field of play," said the analyst while the teams all put themselves in position ready to play.
Authors thought's
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