A few thoughts on the Chick-Fil-A Bowl - best bowl game so far

Finally, 17 days into this years bowl season we finally get a great game, possibly a classic. This was by far the best bowl game so far. It was also the first to feature two of the top teams, and it didn't disappoint. A few observations on the game

• In the first half, thje game had a chaotic feel to it. What I mean by that is that nobody seemed to have any control over it and you were never sure if a play would be a 40 yard touchdown run or a sack for loss. At half time I felt the side who managed to get some control, particularly over the line of scrimmage, would win. Initially it looked like LSU may achieve that but as the half wore on Clemson started to control the game.
• Part of the reason for Clemson's control late on was that LSU's defence was exhausted. Clemson ran 100 plays compared with the 48 LSU ran. Partly this was down to how well Clemson's defence played as LSU had a high number of 3-an-outs, but also it was down to LSU's offence playing poorly and their inability at times to move the ball.
• As the 2nd half went on, it looked to me like the game would be decided by the physical battle and test of stamina between Clemson's offence and LSU's defence. This was ultimately won by Clemson but not before LSU had given them a hell of a pounding. The amount of pressure they got on the Quarterback was ridiculous.
• The last point makes Tajh Boyd's performance even more remarkable. He took a lot of hits, but kept coming back for more. Ran the ball, made plays happen and passed the ball very well. That's one of the best Quarterback performances I've seen. Given the number of plays he ran, he didn't put up big passing numbers but that was irrelevant. Making 36 out of 50 for 346 yards under that pressure is an amazing performance. And the 4th down pass completion late in the game is one of the best you will ever see.
• Despite that, should he have been in a position to make that game winning drive? Why did Les Miles call 3 passing plays that late in the game? At the very least a couple of running plays would have forced Clemson to use up some of its time-outs, but they really should have took more time off the clock.
• A lesson from this game for all is the importance of extra points. If LSU hadn't blocked that extra point in the first half, the game would have had a different flow to it late on because it had a major impact on the decision making of both teams coaches.
• This is also a big win for the rest of the ACC. In the last week of the season and last years BCS bowl games they lost every high profile game they played against opponents from the other conferences. If any team from that conference is going to get back in the national title conversation they need more wins like this.

Finally an observation on the bowl games overall. This bowl game felt like more of a big occasion than any other bowl game so far. That's partly due to the match-up but also because the stadium was full. Far too many bowl games have been played in at best half-full stadiums, something that really has an impact on the atmosphere. Should some of the smaller bowls be played in smaller stadiums?