Chapter 143: 142 Never Walk Alone
Their gazes swept over the faces of their teammates in the offensive group, each youthful expression now reigniting with faith, passion shining in their eyes.
Finally, all eyes turned to Li Wei.
"The game is not over."
"Because we are not fighting alone, there's the Rover, the other teammates standing at the edge of the field, and the millions of Crimson Tide Storm supporters."
"I can't predict the final outcome, I can't guarantee that victory will be ours, we might lose, we might win, but that's not what matters."
"What's important is that we should look at our comrades beside us."
"After the season ends, we will each go our separate ways, some entering professions, some returning to ordinary life, some continue to battle on, life doesn't make it easy for us, it always presents us with one challenge after another."
"But we won't forget that once we were part of the Crimson Tide Storm, we stood on the field, we created miracle after miracle, we marched valiantly towards Richmond James Stadium and fought until the end."
"We will never walk alone!"
Deliberate and firm, yet resonant.
In the howling wind, it seemed one could hear the blood boiling.
"I don't want any regrets, I don't care about winning or losing, but I want to fight to the very last moment."
"I want to face any outcome head-on with my chest out the moment the game whistle blows, I want to hold you, hold us in my memory forever. This is a game, yet it's more than just a game, it's our battle."
"No one can take away this memory."
A pause.
"I'm ready to keep fighting, who's with me?"
Calm, composed, sincere, passionate.
The blood boils.
Li Wei stretched out his right hand, his gaze firm, a slight smile on his lips, his face sweaty and fatigued, yet his whole being radiated immense energy.
Clap.
Immediately, Cam Robinson, the captain and wide receiver of the offensive group, placed his right hand on the back of Li Wei's hand, his heart swelling uncontrollably.
Then came Hertz, then Howard.
One by one, all the palms of the offensive group piled together, their gazes focusing on Li Wei.
Li Wei, "Roar!"
The crowd, "Roar!"
The morale, came surging back.
Just before lining up, Li Wei was the first to notice:
Jacobs had returned to the field.
Sitting in a wheelchair, his right knee covered in an ice pack and wrapped in thick bandages, medical staff pushed him back to the field. Clark immediately greeted him, his face full of concern.
Burns saw it too, waddling forward like a clumsy penguin, saliva flying as he cursed, extremely upset with Jacobs' reckless and hasty actions; but Jacobs didn't back down, he didn't respond or say a word, just stubbornly looked at Burns.
As he continued to curse, Burns grew tired, defeated by the stubbornness and determination in Jacobs' eyes, he shook his head, turned, and walked back; yet, he ultimately couldn't let go, waving at Clark to have him push Jacobs to catch up, a look of deep concern on his face.
Jacobs turned his head towards the field.
Whether in victory or defeat, he wanted to fight with his teammates until the very last moment.
From a distance, Li Wei gave Jacobs a thumbs up.
In this moment, they were not fighting alone.
Bent over, lined up.
Li Wei was ready.
Throughout the game, the Clemson Tigers' attrition tactics were indeed effective. They just needed to stick to their strategy and continue to wear down the clock. Even if the Alabama Crimson Tide Storm scored, as long as they consumed enough time, the Clemson Tigers could stand undefeated.
This also meant that the Alabama Crimson Tide Storm had to make adjustments.
Tired?
That had been completely forgotten now, focus was sharply honed.
"Attack!"
Hertz announced the kickoff—
As expected, Li Wei's prediction was accurate. Clemson Tigers had entered the stage of running down the clock, whether through running or passing the ball. They widened their defensive formation, giving up three to five yards at the front to the Alabama Crimson Tide Storm, only to encircle the running back or wide receiver once they broke out, using their numerical advantage to cut off the offense.
Though yards were lost, large gains were not conceded, and time consumption was severe.
In such a situation, actually, a long pass surprise attack was the best method, striking lethally. However, Hertz tried it once, and the connection wasn't successful.
The Alabama Crimson Tide Storm didn't have many opportunities to waste now, with every squandered offensive chance bringing them closer to an endless abyss.
This was a dilemma, set up in advance by the Clemson Tigers—a net laid from sky to ground, and now it was finally the moment to close the net, tightly grasping onto Saban's lack of diversity in offensive tactics at a critical juncture, and securing for themselves some precious breathing room.
So, what to do?
Second down, ten yards.
After coming back onto the field, the Alabama Crimson Tide Storm chose to pass five times in a row out of necessity, as time was pressing. They had to pick up the tempo. Out of five passes, three were successful, and they secured two first downs, pushing the Crimson Tide Storm's offensive group into midfield.
However, the situation was very, very severe—
There were two minutes and fifty-five seconds left in the game.
While the Clemson Tigers could afford a war of attrition, the Alabama Crimson Tide could not; their offensive group had to unleash the explosive power they'd shown throughout the season.
After the kickoff was announced, Hertz stepped back repeatedly, once again making a gesture to pass. From any angle, the Alabama Crimson Tide Storm had no other choice but to pass, as ground attacks would take up more time; this made Clemson's defense much easier.
Step. Step. Step.
Three steps back, Hertz turned and handed the football to Li Wei.
If the Alabama Crimson Tide's offense wanted to display explosive power, they either had to opt for a long pass or a running play. Since Hertz's previous long pass attempt had failed, Saban once again placed the offensive burden on Li Wei's shoulders.
Li Wei was very calm.
No need for additional observation, the focus of Clemson's defense was clear as day—
On the front, they still maintained four men rushing to pressure Hertz.
At the back, the linebackers and cornerbacks had slightly retreated, focusing on defending against medium and long passes. If Hertz attempted a short pass, they would swarm like locusts, pinning down the receiver immediately.
Whether defending against passing or running, it was actually the same; Clemson firmly controlled the game, they had already secured a victorious position.
Now was no exception.
At this moment, Hertz handed the football to Li Wei. Clemson's secondary defense was caught off guard because Alabama Crimson Tide's wide receivers and tight ends all scattered and dashed out, sprinting toward deep field areas. From any angle, it looked like a passing offense—
And it was a deep pass; Hertz was ready to strike deep, causing all secondary defensive players to closely chase after the wide receivers and tight ends.
The area for a short pass was completely opened up.
Instead, the football ended up in Li Wei's embrace.
Immediately, Li Wei saw the defensive line close at hand, pouncing like fierce tigers.
Li Wei didn't evade; not only did he not evade, but he also faced them head-on without hesitation.