South Carolina beat Clemson for the third straight year 34-13.
Breaking it Down…1st Quarter…South Carolina won the toss and elected to receive. The offense moved the ball well and penetrated as deep as Clemson’s 22 yard line, but after a sack on third down they had to settle for a 47 yard field goal and a 3-0 lead. The defense then forced Clemson to punt without making a first down. On the next drive South Carolina picked up two quick first downs and moved the ball to midfield. On 3rd and 6 Connor Shaw found Bruce Ellington deep down the middle for a touchdown and a 10-0 lead. Clemson started with good field position but couldn’t do anything with it and had to punt. South Carolina’s offense finally slowed down, and the Gamecocks punted. Clemson dropped the punt, but a very questionable kick catch interference call set Clemson up at their 39.
2nd Quarter…The Clemson offense finally came to life and drove 61 yards on 12 plays. Tajh Boyd found Dwayne Allen from 9 yards out to cut the lead to 10-7. The next Gamecock drive was sabotaged by a cut blocking penalty. After that play, the drive couldn’t recover, and USC had to punt. A poor snap was poorly handled, and the punt was blocked. Clemson started in field goal range and drove to the 10. From there, Clemson made their field goal to tie the game at 10 with 6:14 left in the half. The South Carolina offense then answered. Facing 4th and 2 from the Clemson 38, USC went for it, and Kenny Miles converted. From there, it was all downhill until Shaw ran it in from 15 yards out to retake the lead 17-10. The ensuing kick off resulted in a rare touchback. Boyd was called for intentional grounding once, and could have been called for it a second time. The Tigers punted for the third time in the half. Carolina tried to get something going, but a sack on first down ended that idea, so they ran out the clock.
3rd Quarter…Clemson returned the second half kick to the 27 and converted third and long for a first down. A holding penalty short circuited the drive, and CU punted for the 4th time. On the second play of the next Carolina possession Shaw found Rory Anderson on a drag route, and Anderson broke a tackle to take the ball down to the 5 yard line. On third down from the 2 Shaw found Anderson again for the TD and a 24-10 lead. Clemson came out throwing on their next possession. They completed one for no gain, didn’t complete the second, and took a sack on the third, so they had to punt for the 5th time. South Carolina couldn’t pick up a first down and punted. Clemson worked some more running plays into the attack and moved the ball better. They converted a fourth and one from the SC 40, but then they decided to throw some more, ineffectively, and had to punt for a 6th time. The punt pinned USC deep at their 3, so they were somewhat limited in their play calling. They managed some breathing room before punting. The punt was short, and Clemson started their drive at the SC 36.
4th Quarter…Clemson moved the ball to the 14, but Boyd was sacked again, and Clemson settled for another field goal making the score 27-13. Again, South Carolina answered. Kenny Miles and Connor Shaw ran the ball; the offense converted 3 third downs, and Jay Wooten drilled a 37 yard field goal to give USC a two touchdown lead again. After a touchback, Clemson started their next drive at the 20 and came out firing. On third down Devonte Holloman stepped in format of a Boyd pass then returned it to the 19. Two plays later Shaw found Alshon Jeffrey across the back of the end zone for the final score of the game and a 34-13 lead. Boyd was under heavy pressure on the ensuing Clemson drive and couldn’t move the offense very far. After picking up a first down, he was ultimately sacked on fourth down. Kenny Miles picked up a first down, and Connor Shaw was able to kneel on it to end the game.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| Clemson | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| South Carolina | 10 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 34 |
Stars of the Game…Connor Shaw…19 rushes, 107 yds, TD, 14-20 passing, 210 YDS, 3 TD…Kenny Miles…21 rushes, 71 yards…Bruce Ellington, 3 receptions, 71 yds, TD…Rory Anderson…2 receptions, 57 yds, TD…Melvin Ingram…2 sacks, 5 tackles…Antonio Allen…5 tackles, PBU…Devonte Holloman…5 tackles, 1 TFL, INT…Devin Taylor, Travian Robertson, Jadeveon Clowney…1 sack each…
What to Take Away From the Game…Steve Spurrier was right. The way to get past Clemson isn’t to focus on Clemson. They way to move beyond them is to set your sights higher.
When the Head Ball Coach came in a preached that you need to look to the SEC and national championships many fans balked at that idea. Some felt the HBC didn’t quite understand how important our rivalry is. In hindsight, that wasn’t the issue at all. He understood the best way to create a better team is not to compare yourself to Clemson, but to try to win your conference and the rest will come.
Here we are after winning three games in a row for the first time since 1970. The streak may go longer. The HBC’s philosophy has proven to be an unqualified success, and we should be able to look forward to more of the same for years to come.
This and That…South Carolina improved to 10-2 on the season. The Gamecocks won 10 games for the second time. The first was 1984….USC defeated Clemson for the third time in a row for the first time since 1968-1970…The Gamecocks have beaten Clemson 4 times in a row from 1951-1954…The Gamecocks out-gained Clemson 420-153…First downs: SC: 19, CU 12…Time of Possession: SC 37:17, CU 22:43…Third downs…SC: 8 of 18, CU: 6 of 17…
Up next…Bowl Game. When, where and against whom are yet to be determined. Check back later this week, and I’ll give you my best guesses.
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