In what might be a bit of a surprise result, Clemson edged Tennessee 27-26 over the weekend in SCRC action.
Clemson was coming off a recent loss to Kentucky and a 51-12 loss to Penn State, meaning there was some question as to where they might fit in a very competitive SCRC.
Edging the Vols was a big win for the Tigers. Clemson has not been able to get any good possession against Kentucky and were under the cosh in the field position game. So Clemson Head Coach Troy Hall felt his side had done well despite those problems. Making some positional changes for this week the Tigers find the new combinations opened it up for their attack, and a last-minute score put them over the top.
Kentucky, meanwhile, defeated a tough Alabama side 25-10.
Both sets of forwards were hitting hard but Kentucky was able to string long strings of phases together.
Not all of those paid off, but they did serve to keep Alabama in check. The Tide did well to get good field position, especially thanks to Alabama scrumhalf Tom Kendall's box kicks. A few not-straight lineouts from Kentucky didn't help the Wildcats and eventually 'Bama's fullback Nate Williams slotted a penalty goal.
UK responded after that with a good counter-attack on a kick from Matt Verdes and Luke Keough. Playing wide and fast, and getting quick ball out of the rucks, Kentucky ran the phases again and this time they scored, putting Will Meckauskas over.
From the restarts Holden Hahn galloped through, opening up one-on-one matchups for the big men in the middle. Kentucky ended up being held up in-goal, but the ensuing goalline dropout didn't go the requisit five meters. As a result Kentucky had an attacking scrum five meters out. Somehow Alabama held on and got out of it to keep it at 5-3 at halftime.
Kentucky did get an early penalty in the second half from Jack Phillips, but had trouble shaking Alabama. Strong defense from Alabama and passive running from Kentucky earned Alabama position and possession, leading to flyhalf Paul Malito reading a grubber kick from Kentucky well and picking it up in stride. Malito is a powerful runner and he dismissed several tacklers as he raced 50 meters for a game-tying try. Williams slotted the conversion to nudge Alabama ahead 10-8.
From the restart, Kentucky earned a penalty that Phillips put over to regain the lead for the Wildcats at 11-10.
The game was very physical and looked to center on some key decisions. One was when, at 55 minutes Alabama had a kickable penalty and opted for the lineout instead. But the throw into the lineout was called not straight, and Kentucky got out of trouble
From the following scrum Luke Keough powered through some tackles and Kentucky recycled and moved the ball before a series of penalties eventually resulted in Alabama's Williams getting a yellow card.
