It’s Game Day at Williams-Brice Stadium where No. 3 Clemson battles South Carolina as the Tigers look to earn their 27th straight win today and sixth straight over the Gamecocks.
Clemson looks to take another step towards the College Football Playoff in the Palmetto Bowl.
Location: Williams-Brice Stadium
Kickoff: Noon
Television: ESPN
Announcers: Dave Pasch, Greg McElroy , Tom Luginbill
2019 Record: Clemson 11-0, South Carolina 4-7
ACC Record: Clemson 8-0
Series History: Clemson leads 70-42-4
Last Meeting: Clemson won 56-35 on November 24, 2018
CLEMSON SEEKS SIXTH STRAIGHT WIN AGAINST SOUTH CAROLINA
Clemson will attempt to extend its winning streak against in-state rival South Carolina to six games when the Tigers face the Gamecocks for the 117th time on Saturday, Nov. 30. Kickoff at Williams-Brice Stadium is scheduled for noon.
Clemson, holder of the nation’s longest active overall winning streak (26), home winning streak (22) and road winning streak (11), will attempt to extend its recent run of victories against its rival. Clemson has won five straight against South Carolina since 2014 and will attempt to earn a sixth consecutive win against the Gamecocks for the first time since a seven-game streak from 1934-40.
Clemson has scored at least 34 points in every game of its five-game series winning streak, winning by an average margin of 23.4 points in that span.
Since the start of October, Clemson’s weekly scoring margins have displayed a brand of dominance rarely seen in FBS history. Clemson is in the midst of a six-game streak of wins by 30 or more points, one shy of matching 1976 Michigan and 2011 Houston for the longest such streaks in the AP Poll era (since 1936). Clemson has also won four consecutive games for 45 or more points, presently standing with 1944 Army and 1972 Nebraska as the only teams since 1936 to do so.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS WEEK
– Clemson attempting to complete its eighth undefeated regular season in school history, joining the 1900 (6-0), 1906 (4-0-3), 1948 (10-0), 1950 (8-0-1), 1981 (11-0), 2015 (12-0) and 2018 (12-0) Clemson squads. A win
would make it Clemson’s sixth time finishing a regular season without any losses or ties.
– Clemson attempting to open a season 12-0 for only the fourth time, joining a 12-0 record in every game of the 1981 season and a 12-0 mark in the first 12 games of the 2015 and 2018 seasons.
– Clemson winning the first 12 games of a season for the third time under Head Coach Dabo Swinney (2015 and 2018). Swinney was already the first coach in Clemson history to coach the school to multiple 12-0 starts. Danny
Ford accomplished the feat once during Clemson’s 1981 national championship campaign.
– The 2019 Tigers winning a 12th game to tie the 1981 and 2017 squads for the fourth-most wins in a season in school history.
– Clemson (114) attempting to earn its 115th victory this decade to join Alabama (123 in the 2010s), Ohio State (115 in the 2010s), Penn (124 in the 1890s) and Yale (116 in the 1890s) as the only major college football programs since 1890 to win 115 games in a single decade.
– The 2019 Clemson seniors attempting to win their 53rd game to tie the 2017 Alabama seniors for third most in FBS history in a four-year span. Clemson would match the 2018 Alabama seniors as the fastest to 53
wins (56 games).
– Clemson attempting to win its 27th consecutive game, dating to the start of the 2018 season, to extend the longest winning streak in school history and secondlongest winning streak in ACC history. A 27-game winning streak would take sole possession of the 18thlongest streak in major college football history.
SENIOR CLASS SUPERLATIVES
Clemson honored its 2019 senior class with Senior Day festivities prior to its Nov. 16 contest against Wake Forest. As it enters its final regular season game this week, the 2019 senior class…
… holds a 52-3 overall record in the last four years, one of only four senior classes in FBS history to post at least 52 career wins in four years.
… will become the second senior class in conference history to play in four consecutive ACC Championship games, and with a win in Charlotte, could become the second class in conference history to win four ACC titles outright, joining Clemson’s 2018 class.
… is attempting to become Clemson’s second straight senior class to earn four consecutive College Football Playoff berths during their careers.
… has won 44 games against Power Five conference opponents since 2016, the most in the country.
… has been ranked in the AP Top 10 in every poll of their careers, one of only two senior classes in the country able to make that claim. That includes a streak of 36 consecutive appearances in the Top 5 since 2017, the longest streak in school history.
… finished 27-1 in Death Valley, tying the 2017 and 2018 Clemson seniors for the most career wins at Memorial Stadium.
SERIES HISTORY VS. SOUTH CAROLINA
Saturday’s game will be the 117th all-time meeting between Clemson and South Carolina. It will be the 111th consecutive year the two schools have met, as the teams have played every year since (and including) the 1909 season. That is the second-longest active streak of consecutive years played in a rivalry in the nation. The only longer consecutive rivalry is Minnesota vs. Wisconsin, as those teams will play for a 113th consecutive year (every
year since and including 1907) on Saturday.
The Clemson vs. South Carolina series dates to 1896, the first year of football at Clemson and the fourth season for South Carolina. Clemson holds the advantage 70-42-4 since that first meeting in Columbia, a game won by
South Carolina, 12-6. Clemson’s first win took place the following year, an 18-6 victory in Columbia.
Clemson broke a five-game losing streak to South Carolina in 2014 with a 35-17 win at Clemson. Deshaun Watson led the Tigers to the victory with 269 yards passing and 13 yards rushing. He threw for two scores and rushed for two more despite playing with a torn ACL.
A win this week would be Clemson’s sixth in a row in the series, which would be Clemson’s first such streak against its in-state rival since 1934-40 when the Tigers won seven in a row.
The 2019 senior class would become the 14th Clemson class to earn four wins against South Carolina in four years, joining the seniors of 1900, 1919, 1930, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1983, 1991, 2000 and 2005, 2017 and 2018. In 2005, Charlie Whitehurst became the only quarterback for either team in the series to start four victories.
TCI Predictions
Robert – Clemson 63, South Carolina 17
Will – Clemson 55, South Carolina 10
Gavin – Clemson 48, South Carolina 14
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