By Will Vandervort.

So who has the edge as the 23rd-ranked Clemson Tigers host South Carolina State today at Memorial Stadium (Death Valley)? The Clemson Insider breaks down all the key matchups as the Tigers go for their first victory of the season.

Clemson’s defense vs. S.C. State quarterback Adrian Kollock: In his first start, Kollock completed 15 of 18 passes for 160 yards. He also ran the ball for 22 more. The sophomore is an impressive athlete and is a guy the Bulldogs like to involve in a lot of plays. He is a very capable passer. They will also create some opportunities for him in the running game. Clemson will try to counter by getting pressure off the edge and attacking him the same way they did Braxton Miller in the Orange Bowl. The good news for Clemson is S.C. State does not have the same kind of offensive line that Ohio State had.  Advantage: Clemson

Clemson’s D-line vs. S.C. State’s O-line: The Bulldogs might not be as big or as strong as the offensive line the Tigers saw in Athens last week, but they are every bit as physical. Led by senior tackles Cephas (left) and Domanic Wilson (right), S.C. State rushed for 381 yards and had 541 total yards of offense in its 63-0 victory over Benedict. The Tigers’ defensive line was manhandled by the Bulldogs’ offensive front a week ago, especially in the fourth quarter when they finally wore down. Clemson gave up 211 of Georgia’s 328 rushing yards in the final 15 minutes. Clemson had just one sack in the game and never really got pressure to Hutson Mason all day. All-American defensive end Vic Beasley nearly disappeared in the game, but defensive tackle Grady Jarrett had six tackles, while fellow DT DeShawn Williams had seven. Advantage: Clemson

Clemson’s O-line vs. S.C. State’s O-line: The Bulldogs held Benedict to 228 yards of total offense. Though Benedict is not Clemson, shutting an opponent out at any level is impressive. The Bulldogs also scored a defensive touchdown when nose tackle Javon Hargrave picked up a fumble and rumbled 61 yards for a touchdown. S.C. State likes to bring a lot of pressure and they are in and out of their packages and looks a lot. They move around a lot and play extremely hard. Clemson’s offensive line looked confused against Georgia’s front in the second half. There were also a lot of missed assignments, especially at center where starter Ryan Norton played one of his worse games of his career. Clemson gave up five sacks—four in the second half—and were held to zero rushing yards in the final 30 minutes against Georgia. Advantage: Clemson

Clemson vs. Clemson: Clemson’s worse enemy last week was Clemson. The Tigers had 31 missed assignments in the second half on offense. The offensive line was confused and seem to be lost at times against Georgia. Wide receivers and running backs dropped four passes in the first half and Wayne Gallman was tackled by the 20-yard line when he tried to turn a screen play into a big gain in the fourth quarter. And oh, where were the tight ends? The defense played well for three quarters—good enough to win—but they imploded in the fourth. There were 13 missed tackles alone in the final 15 minutes and Georgia ran the same play over and over again because the Tigers either could not stop it or gave up. It was probably a combination of both as the defense was wore down from being on the field for nearly 20 minutes in the second half while Georgia pounded them with fresh running backs. Advantage: S.C State