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NEW ORLEANS — John Kasay came through in his last, best chance to guarantee the Carolina Panthers would have a playoff game on their home field, where they are unbeaten.

DeAngelo Williams rushed for 178 yards, Steve Smith had 134 yards receiving, and Kasay’s 42-yard field goal with a second left lifted Carolina to a 33-31 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, locking up the NFC South title and the second seed in the conference.

“By God’s grace, this one went in,” Kasay said of the winning kick, which came a week after his 50-yard miss near the end of regulation cost Carolina the NFC’s top seed in an overtime loss to the New York Giants.

Carolina (12-4), the only team to go 8-0 at home this season, still gets a first-round playoff bye and then a chance to extend its perfect record in Charlotte in the divisional round.

The Panthers’ defense intercepted Drew Brees once and sacked him twice, performing just well enough to prevent the quarterback from breaking Dan Marino’s 1984 single-season NFL record of 5,084 yards passing. Brees needed 402 yards to set the mark. He finished with 386, which made him only the second player to pass for more than 5,000 yards.

PAPAJOHNS.COM BOWL

Rutgers (7-5) vs. North Carolina State (6-6)

SITE: Birmingham, Ala.

TIME: 2 p.m.

TV: ESPN (Cable channel 26 in Columbia area)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As Clemson buses returned to the team hotel Saturday, running back James Davis saw his old coach, Tommy Bowden, on the television.

Davis did his best to quiet teammates so he could listen to what Bowden was saying, although some responded that they had heard him talk before.

Bowden is experimenting as a television analyst and was a co-host with former USC coach Lou Holtz and others on ESPN’s studio crew.

“It was neat. It was really odd to see him next to coach Holtz,” coach Dabo Swinney said. “Maybe they could break out in false fisticuffs.”

Swinney said he later exchanged several text-messages with Bowden, but he declined to offer specifics.

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The silence in the Detroit Lions’ locker room was so deafening it drowned out all but the most mundane of sounds.

No laughter, no post-game jokes, certainly no congratulations for a job well done. Just the occasional sound of luggage being zipped up at the close of a hideous season historic for all the wrong reasons.

And really, with derisive chants of “Oh-and-16! Oh-and-16!” still ringing in their ears, was there anything left to say?

“It’s over now. We’re 0-16,” rookie running back Kevin Smith said. “I wish it was just a dream. I wish I could wake up and it’d be over. But it’s not.”

The Lions didn’t even bother trying to put a brave face on this one. With a 31-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Detroit solidified its claim as the worst team in NFL history. Sixteen games, 16 losses.

Leave it to Clemson to send me to one of two spots in the country where the Miami Dolphins’ playoff-clinching victory was not televised.

In Florida, no less.

CBS could only show one game, and it contractually had to be Jacksonville’s meaningless lay-down at Baltimore. Furthermore, the early televised games featured either the St. Louis Rams or the Oakland Raiders.

I saw better football in the 45 minutes the Tigers allowed media to watch practice.

It seemed ironic that I was lamenting the lack of options with defensive line coach Chris Rumph around the time that Rumph’s nephew and last year’s top Clemson draftee, defensive end Phillip Merling, scored on an interception return.

ONE RUNNING BACK prospect has come off Clemson’s board, but two others have popped up. Onterio McCalebb (5-foot-11, 172 pounds) of Hargrave Prep, Va., plans to stick with his commitment to Auburn, but Clemson has picked up interest on Daquan Hargrett (5-9, 185) of Miami and Tim Simon (6-1 220) of Cordova, Ala.

Hargrett has been a West Virginia commitment but is looking at other options. “I’m still committed to West Virginia but I might take a couple of more visits,” he said. One of those visits will be Clemson which he said he will visit with his teammate defensive back Tevin McCasskill (6-2, 182). Hargrett has visited West Virginia and Iowa State. He’s also drawing interest from South Florida, Minnesota, Florida State, Florida International and Troy.

Simon plans to take an official visit to Clemson Jan. 10, Kentucky, on the 17th, Mississippi on the 24th and Tennessee on the 31st. Simon has been committed to Mississippi.

Clemson has taken a strong liking to kicker Grant Clayton (5-8, 170) of A.C. Flora, who booted a Shrine Bowl record 44 yard field goal. He plans to visit the second or third week of January. Clayton also is getting interest from Colorado , West Virginia and Boston College.

Linebacker Spencer Shuey (6-3, 245) of Charlotte also was a standout at the Shrine Bowl, and some bigger programs are now swooping in. Clemson is very interested and has lined him up for an official visit Jan. 10. He will visit either North Carolina or Marshall on the 17th and Illinois on the 24th. He also plans to visit Tennessee. Clemson has not yet offered but is giving indications one will come. Shuey has offers from North Carolina, Kentucky, Marshall, Duke, Western Kentucky, James Madison and Appalachian State.

ATLANTA — Mike Smith had a simple question for his Atlanta Falcons as they looked ahead to the playoffs:

“Why not us?” Smith asked.

The Falcons, who held off the St. Louis Rams 31-27 on Sunday to clinch the No. 5 seed in the NFC, may believe anything is possible in the playoffs after their improbable regular season.

In his first year as coach, Smith and rookie quarterback Matt Ryan led the Falcons to an 11-5 record one season after a 4-12 finish.

“We came a long way,” said Jerious Norwood, who ran for two touchdowns, including the go-ahead 45-yard run with 3:41 left. “Whoever would have thought we’d be in the playoffs?”

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Running back Shawnbrey McNeal and tight end Daniel Adderley will be granted releases by Miami to transfer to other schools.

Miami coach Randy Shannon said Sunday he is not sure which schools the players will choose. McNeal, who has an ailing mother and a small child to take care of in his native Texas, is thought to be considering enrolling at TCU.

McNeal’s decision to leave was a difficult one, Shannon said.

“He came to me about two or three weeks ago and said he’s got some real family problems and feels like he needs to go back home and be closer with his mom,” Shannon said. “I think that’s been really bothering him because his mom isn’t doing very well.”

Adderley likely will return to South Carolina, his home state, Shannon said.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A few things popped out about Clemson’s defense when Nebraska senior receiver Todd Peterson watched film.

Senior safeties Michael Hamlin and Chris Clemons make a ton of plays. The defensive tackles get into the backfield and disrupt timing. As a whole, the Tigers are as athletic as anyone the Cornhuskers have faced.

The caveat — not to mention the compelling matchup in Thursday’s Gator Bowl — is that Clemson’s highly ranked defense hasn’t faced an offense as prolific as Nebraska’s.

“Another thing that’s glaring is a lot of ACC offenses aren’t run like ours,” Peterson said.

“It’s kind of been built up that there is no defense in the Big 12, and we’re going to find out if we have a good defense or (have) been playing sloppy defenses.”

Alabama will play Virginia Tech on Sept. 5 in the Georgia Dome in the 2009 opener for each team.

Alabama beat then-No. 9 Clemson 34-10 at the Georgia Dome to open its 2008 season. The Crimson Tide rode the momentum gained from the win to go through the regular season without a loss. Alabama rose to No. 1 before returning to the Georgia Dome to lose to Florida 31-20 in the Southeastern Conference championship game on Dec. 6.

"Going to the game and playing Clemson, which was a top 10 team, really motivated our players on the offseason to work hard," Alabama coach Nick Saban said Friday. "I think it really made our team better. ... I think that game played a significant role in helping us do that."

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said he expects his team will receive a similar lift from the game, called the Chick-fil-A College Kickoff.

The Rams, who have won the past two Class A Division I state championships, are 38-15 under Taneyhill with three consecutive double-digit win seasons.

“After the (state championship), you’ve got a lot of things going through your mind,” Taneyhill said. “We’ve got all our coaches coming back and a lot of the players, we’ve got support from the community, and it was just a combination of different things that you take into consideration.”

Taneyhill said he talked informally about a few different opportunities, but declined to say what they were.

Taneyhill went on to say that he does not have any formal plans to leave or move to a bigger school by a certain time.

There’s a decent chance they won’t be his last either.

Raper, who went to elementary school in Greenville, lists South Carolina and Clemson along with North Carolina and North Carolina State among his final four recruiting choices.

A speedy athlete with toughness that belies his slender 5-11, 160-pound frame, Raper said the high-caliber athletes involved in the Shrine Bowl are giving him an early peek at college life.

“It’s been a pretty good week,” Raper said following a morning practice at Dorman High. “I’m here with a lot bigger guys than I’m used to playing with. I feel like I’m already in college and that’s a good thing for me, to get ready for the next level.”

Ryan Kelly

School: Raleigh Ravenscroft

Height: 6-10

Position: Forward

Six years later, the lines of communication have flipped.

“Now I get between 20 and 30 e-mails from coaches who want to come to the tournament each year,” said Fulmer, the tournament director.

This year’s tournament, which starts tonight at Richland Northeast High, shows how far the event has progressed.

The 16-team field, with teams from seven states, features eight of the nation’s top 100 senior players, according to Scouthoops.com’s rankings.

It went without saying that helping Swinney fulfill Phillips' prophecy likely offered the best, if not only, chance for many of the assistants to retain their jobs, too.

"You just know that the best thing you can do is do the best you can in any circumstance you're in," outside linebackers/bandit ends coach Ron West said.

"Always, something good happens if you do that. You can't worry about factors you can't control."

West was referring to factors that figure to make this an anxious Christmas season for several Clemson assistants, especially defensive coaches.

“Grant is the most competitive person I’ve seen,” A.C. Flora football coach Robin Bacon said of his senior kicker. “He wants to kick the ball.”

But kicking through the uprights wasn’t the first choice for Clayton, who will be playing for the South Carolina all-stars Saturday in the Shrine Bowl.

Before football, Clayton played soccer. He played both sports his freshman year but decided to concentrate on football his sophomore season. Why?

“I just grew up a huge football fan,” he said. “I dream to play college football, and I realized I could be pretty good at it. I knew I’d enjoy doing that more than I would playing college soccer. It’s paid off for me.”

And this year, if you’re looking for some sports to go with your Christmas cheer, the pickings are slim.

The only event scheduled for Wednesday, Christmas Eve, is the Hawaii Bowl at 8 p.m. on ESPN (cable channel 26, high-definition channel 950). It features two mediocre teams, Hawaii (7-6) and Notre Dame (6-6).

That might be enough to make you want to watch "A Christmas Story" ... again. A 24-hour marathon of the classic on TBS (cable channel 24, HD channel 838) begins at 8 p.m. Wednesday. Ralphie wanting Santa to bring him a Red Ryder BB air rifle might qualify it as an outdoor sports movie.

Those planning to watch sports on Christmas Day will have to be content with pro basketball. There will be five games, beginning with New Orleans vs. Orlando at noon on ESPN. Then, San Antonio vs. Phoenix at 2:30 p.m. and Boston vs. the L.A. Lakers at 5 p.m., both on ABC, WOLO-25 (cable channel 5, HD channel 815). Rounding out the day will be Washington vs. Cleveland at 8 p.m. and Dallas vs. Portland at 10:30 p.m., both on TNT (cable channel 23, HD channel 840).

STATS: 302-for-442 (68.3 percent), 4,464 yards, 48 touchdowns, 6 interceptions; 40 carries, 65 yards, 5 touchdowns

WHY HE WILL WIN

• Led the nation with 48 touchdown passes.

• Playing in the nation’s best conference, guided Sooners to Big 12 title and BCS championship game appearance.

The tennis players — Andy Roddick, Serena Williams, John Isner and Caroline Wozniacki — will sign autographs at 6 p.m., an hour before they play their exhibition-style matches.

Gavin Rossdale, frontman of the band Bush, will headline. Also performing: Villanova and Mark Bryan of Hootie and The Blowfish.

USC women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley and former USC and Philadelphia Eagles running back Duce Staley also will appear, though it’s doubtful they’ll play guitar or swing a racquet.

After the autograph session, events will take place in this order: mixed doubles, Roddick and Williams vs. Isner and Wozniacki; women’s singles; live music; and men’s singles.

“I’m very anxious to prepare for the 2009 season,” said Labonte, who has 21 career Cup victories and who won the Cup championship in 2000 when he drove for Joe Gibbs Racing. “I do not currently have a contract with any other team, but I am ready to explore all opportunities and form the next partnership in my career.”

Labonte, 44, drove the No. 43 Dodges for the past three seasons.

The most attractive ride that remains open for next season is the No. 41 car, sponsored by Target. It has not yet been filled as Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates and Dale Earnhardt Inc. work on details of their own merger.

“Petty Enterprises and I had serious and very sincere discussions about what was best for myself and everyone involved at Petty Enterprises moving forward,” said Labonte, 44. “These discussions culminated with us agreeing that moving in a separate direction will be the greatest way to reach our goals.”

Gadsden-Gilliard, who will play for the South in Saturday’s North-South All-Star game, was off to a hot start on the basketball court before returning to football this week. He has worked mostly at tight end in practice this week and could see solid playing time in the noon game at Doug Shaw Stadium.

“It’s easier [being away] knowing that my team came up with a win,” said Gadsden-Gilliard of Georgetown’s 50-48 overtime victory against Kingstree on Tuesday. “That took the pain away.”

The 6-foot-5 senior said the Bulldogs struggled early, but several reserves have since stepped into key roles to help provide depth. Gadsden-Gilliard said he was averaging about 26 points per game before leaving the team. He expects teams to focus on him once he returns.

“There are going to be a lot of gimmick defenses this year,” he said.

Boyd — a 6-foot-2, Gastonia, N.C., product rated among the nation’s top seven receivers by Rivals.com and Scout.com — was on the verge of committing to the Tigers before Tommy Bowden’s midseason departure, Ashbrook High coach Mike Briggs said.

With the jobs of his Clemson recruiters in flux as well, Boyd turned his attention elsewhere and committed to North Carolina over Oklahoma and Missouri on Nov. 6.

Then a funny thing happened — the interim coach at Clemson landed the full-time job after a six-game audition.

Dabo Swinney, whom Boyd had gotten to know as his potential position coach, was hired as Bowden’s replacement Dec. 2.

SOUTHERN FRIED FOOTBALL

By Tony Barnhardt. 236 pages

Triumph Books. $25.95

Not a lot of new ground is covered here, but Barnhardt’s book serves as a nice review of why college football is so special in the South. The book chronicles the great players, coaches, teams and even radio voices with outstanding black-and-white photos.

"That's my baby and I'm proud of him," she said after McDowell was selected to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, which will be played Jan. 3 in San Antonio. "I know it's almost time for him to become his own man."

He has a little bit more business to do though.

The past two weeks have been busy for McDowell. He helped his team to the Class 4A Division I championship game last week; Thursday he was given his U.S. Army All-American jersey; and next he will head to Myrtle Beach to attend the Mr. Football banquet. His a finalist for the award.

He will then travel to Spartanburg to begin preparation for next weekend's Shrine Bowl.

The death of one teenager was too much for Gilda Cobb-Hunter.

With Kelly McKeowen in mind, Cobb-Hunter, a state representative from Orangeburg, pre-filed a bill this week that requires students to have an electrocardiogram (EKG) as part of a physical to be cleared to participate on a “school-sponsored athletic team.”

“I am a firm believer in preventive health and thought it important to protect our young athletes by requiring this test,” Cobb-Hunter said in an e-mail Thursday.

McKeowen was a 15-year-old freshman at Calhoun Academy when she collapsed in October 2007 while jogging. She later died of a previously undiagnosed heart ailment.

His high school career peaks Saturday when he participates in the North-South All-Star football game in Myrtle Beach. The 6-foot, 210-pound fullback will suit up for the South team in the noon game at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium.

The workhorse in the Lexington offense knows his number isn’t likely to be called as it was the past two seasons with the South running a spread offense, but he still hopes to cap his prep playing days in a big way.

This season Carden rushed for 1,703 yards and 21 touchdowns on 306 carries while leading the Wildcats to a 9-4 mark and the second round of the Class 4A Division I state playoffs. That followed a 1,277-yard season as a junior.

His big senior year finished a high school career that saw him gain 4,292 yards — second best in school history only to Demetrius Summers, the state’s all-time leading rusher — on 841 carries, 40 of which ended in the end zone.

New defensive assistant Charlie Harbison will be paid $250,000 annually, according to figures released by the school Thursday.

Harbison has yet to be given a formal job title, but he is expected to serve as secondary coach.

The amount is the same Clemson paid former Clemson offensive coordinator Rob Spence last season. Former defensive coordinator Vic Koenning got $260,000.

Harbison earned $250,000 as Mississippi State’s defensive coordinator before that staff was ushered out late last month.

The signal was sent in — all was a go to run a trick play Clemson aptly named “Cock-a-doodle-doo” when installing it this past week.

It nearly blew up in the Tigers’ faces, but the result was a 50-yard touchdown catch by Ford that put Clemson ahead 17-0 with 8:33 remaining in the second quarter.

“I hadn’t seen that one since I ran it at Gaffney High School with the junior varsity,” USC defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson said. “And we scored on it, too.”

Ford went undetected along the left sideline and ran downfield uncovered at the snap.

STANDING AT MIDFIELD of Clemson’s Memorial Stadium on this rainy Saturday, Jeff Scott flashed back half his 27 years, recalling his first South Carolina-Clemson game here.

The Tigers’ receivers coach smiled at the memory of himself as a 14-year-old, hauling headset cords for his father, who in 1994 was the Gamecocks’ first-year coach. Mostly, he said, he remembered his first taste of this bitter rivalry.

“Clemson waited until the first series when we got the ball, and their security guys tried to kick me off the field,” he said as celebrating Tigers fans pounded his back following Saturday’s 31-14 win. “They said I was too young; I was 14, and they said you had to be 18.

“There was a big war between the Clemson police and the S.C. Highway Patrolmen” who formed Brad Scott’s security detail. “Luckily, I got to stay after a call to (then-Clemson athletics director) Bobby Robinson.”

Armanti Edwards.

The Greenwood High graduate completed 29-of-41 passes for a school-record 433 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Mountaineers to a 37-21 first-round victory against the Bulldogs in the FCS playoffs in front of a crowd of 13,712 at Kidd Brewer Stadium.

The win sends Appalachian State (11-2) to a second-round home game against Richmond. The Bulldogs, making their first appearance in the playoffs since 1982, ended their season 10-3.

The Mountaineers put the dagger in the Bulldogs with a 75-yard fourth-quarter drive. Edwards hit Brian Quick, the redshirt freshman from Ridge View High, with a 2-yard touchdown pass with 7:21 to play to create a 31-21 lead.

When the Minnesota Vikings selected Sidney Rice with the 44th pick of the NFL draft, the nearly 13,000 residents in his hometown of Gaffney became converts.

“I’ve never seen so many Minnesota fans here,” said Tony Thompson, owner of Benna’s Sports Club in Gaffney.

The restaurant on Floyd Baker Boulevard, one of the town’s main drags, is a popular gathering spot for fans in this die-hard football town. Many of them root for the nearby Carolina Panthers.

But when the Panthers traveled to Minnesota on Sept. 21, Thompson saw where the hearts of the townsfolk really lie. Rice did not play, but Gaffney’s fans cheered for a Minnesota win anyway. It reminded Thompson of the way fans cheered for South Carolina when Rice played there in 2005 and ’06.

James Madison advanced to play Villanova (10-2) in the quarterfinals on Saturday. Villanova defeated Colgate 55-28 in the first round.

Landers scored the game-winning touchdown on a 6-yard run with 3:21 remaining, capping a 65-yard drive. That possession was set up when Wofford, trailing 31-28, fell inches short on a fourth-and-6 play at the James Madison 40 with a little more than nine minutes remaining.

The touchdown run capped Landers’ day. His scoring passes of 15, 27 and 23 yards helped the Dukes (11-1) build a 28-14 halftime lead.

“We knew going in that they had an array of weapons,” Wofford coach Mike Ayers said. “The difference-maker in the game was the quarterback. That guy can do a lot of things. If we had been able to stop him one more time, we might have had a shot.”

The bumpiest of regular-season journeys culminated in a memorably bouncy ride.

“I kind of cried when coach (Tommy) Bowden left, but coach Dabo, he picked us up,” senior running back James Davis said. “That’s what you expect from a coach.”

Whether Swinney is named that coach figures to sort out in short order.

He punctuated his resume with Saturday’s 31-14 hammering of rival USC in Death Valley, a victory that qualified the Tigers (7-5) for a bowl.

Three days after Jake Delhomme berated his teammates at halftime for their lackluster starts, the Panthers began a weeklong plan to eradicate an alarming trend: big early deficits.

“I was like, ‘Let’s not wait until we get hit in the mouth to react. Let’s get going early,’” Delhomme said.

The altered practice routine was inevitable because something had to change after the Panthers faced 10-0 and 17-0 holes in the last two games. The Panthers have not picked up a first down until the second quarter in the last two weeks. And while they were able to rally two weeks ago against Detroit, their comeback bid came up short Sunday in an ugly 45-28 loss at Atlanta.

“We started practicing at a faster tempo,” defensive tackle Damione Lewis said. “We’re trying to get it corrected. I think guys came out with the right mind-set today at work. Guys were flying around, making plays and being where they’re supposed to be, which is the most important part of it all. I think we’re trying to do everything in our power to correct that.”

The most prominent name is Bishopville native and Camden resident Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey, former winner of Golf Channel’s “Big Break” reality series and a Tour rookie in 2008. The 33-year-old former factory worker finished second at 2008’s final regular-season event, boosting him from to No. 148 on the Tour money list, giving him limited status for 2009.

A year ago, Gainey was a mini-tours long shot who earned his credentials at Q-school. He will try to regain full status this week.

Another PGA Tour regular seeking to regain a berth for next year is Columbia native Charles Warren. After earning $1 million-plus each year from 2005-07, the former Clemson All-American slipped outside the exempt top 125 to No. 130.

Kevin Johnson of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., a Tigers All-American and Nationwide Tour regular since 1990, reached the final stage via two rounds of qualifying. Mount Pleasant’s Brian Duncan likewise battled through the first two rounds after playing various mini-tours in 2008.

Expectations are high.

“The pressure is on,” Lower Richland coach Debbie Stroman. “The tea kettle is about to explode.”

Stroman smiles as she says this. She knows about pressure, having won five state championships in 17 seasons. And pressure is nothing new to a team that enters this season with a 44-game winning streak.

“We try to keep (pressure) off the girls, but people stop them all the time to talk about Lower Richland basketball games,” Stroman said. “Fans tell them that’s why they come to the games again. You have to deal with that the best way you can.”

He just didn't expect it to happen Saturday night.

Radford accounted for 276 yards and three touchdowns, including a 72-yard score on his only catch, to lead Appalachian State in a 48-14 victory against Presbyterian on Saturday night.

Armanti Edwards threw for 220 yards and one touchdown, while backup quarterback DeAndre Presley scored another pair on the ground for Appalachian State (2-2).

The Mountaineers, the defending Football Championship Subdivision national champions, overcame a rocky start to pile up 407 of its 697 yards of total offense in the final two quarters.

Judging by their reactions, his Clemson teammates figured he had enough.

Instant replay, though, failed to overturn what officials ruled on the field.

Harper’s sneak failed to produce the inches the Tigers needed to continue their final drive — a play emblematic of Clemson’s troubles in the trenches this season.

“You’ve got to be able to make that to beat a good team,” coach Tommy Bowden said. “It was literally 10 inches.”