By Heath Bradley

CLEMSON – The Clemson offensive line is playing its best football of the season, and health and consistency is playing a major factor.

Over the last three weeks the Clemson offense has begun to hit its stride, and the play of the offensive line is a big reason.

The offensive line has played some of its best football in victories over Duke, Maryland and NC State. In two of those games, the ninth-ranked Tigers (10-1) have rushed for over 300 yards and have not been charged with allowing a sack, though they faced the ACC leader in sacks in both Maryland and NC State the last two weeks.

The protection of quarterback Tajh Boyd has allowed the Clemson offense to put up some almost mind-blowing numbers. In the previous two weeks combined, the Tigers have rushed for more than 400 and passed for more than 700 yards combined, while scoring 107 points.

Clemson offensive tackle Gifford Timothy attributes the consistency of his play, as well as the offensive line as a whole to improved health.

“This time last year, we did not have Philip (Price) because was hurt and a lot of other guys were banged up,” he said.

That’s not the case this year as the Tigers get ready to take on archrival and 12th-ranked South Carolina Saturday at 7 p.m. in Death Valley. This improved health as a unit has led to the line being able to mesh better as a unit, thus attributing to better play. For Timothy alone, the improved health of his knee has allowed him to better focus on the playbook and his technique, which has increased his productivity in games.

The Clemson offensive line will face its biggest test in recent weeks, and potentially the entire season against the Gamecocks front four. South Carolina (9-2) features one of the top defensive lines in the nation, while as a team it leads the SEC and ranks eighth nationally in sacks with 3.1 per game.

This is a test Timothy and the Tigers seem to be prepared for. Each week, the Tigers have spoken of playing to a standard, not the opponent. They believe that if they take care of what they can handle, they will be successful.

This has shown to be the case in 2012, no matter what the situation, a big lead or an early deficit, the Tigers have risen to the occasion and made the necessary plays to be victorious. While Saturday night will be a biggest test for the Tigers, yet, expect them to focus on playing to a standard and not worrying about who is lined up across the line of scrimmage.