On the Gramlich & Mac Lain show with fellow Clemson alum Kelly Gramlich, former Clemson standout and All-ACC offensive lineman Eric Mac Lain weighed in on the Tigers’ 28-14 win over rival South Carolina in Columbia on Nov. 29.
It was a sweet finish to a disappointing campaign for Clemson (7-5), the defending ACC champs who were picked to repeat. The Tigers had national title aspirations after entering this season ranked No. 4 in the country, but got off to a 3-5 start before rallying to end the regular season on a four-game winning streak.
“Great for Clemson,” Mac Lain said. “A team that had so much expectation on them, so much pressure, so much whatever, and it fell to the wayside quickly. Like, the sky fell really, really fast, and they never quit. And there’s something to that. And I don’t know – again, is this like the participation trophy award, here? Like, I don’t know what I’m giving out. But I don’t think a lot of programs today have this ability. I don’t think they’re able to do that. Again, does that matter, does anyone care? I don’t know. It’s worth saying, and it is something that’s tangible and real, and there’s also frustration built in that as well.”
Against the Gamecocks (4-8), Clemson forced four turnovers, including a Ricardo Jones pick-six in a six-point game with around three minutes remaining. It marked the sixth consecutive victory in Columbia for the Tigers, who broke up 11 passes and recorded six tackles for loss with five sacks.
Linebacker Sammy Brown paced Clemson defensively with nine tackles and a fumble recovery, while fellow linebacker Wade Woodaz contributed seven tackles and a pass breakup. Defensive end T.J. Parker tallied 3.0 sacks and recovered a fumble as well, and fellow edge rusher Will Heldt added four tackles (2.5 for loss) and 1.5 sacks. Jones nabbed his fifth and sixth interceptions of the season in the contest, accounting for two of Clemson’s four takeaways.
“The defense was very opportunistic, stepped up,” Mac Lain said. “Ricardo Jones – Ricardo Jones just casually leads the ACC in picks, by the way, with six. Had a pick-six against these boys. … Huge game.”
“You see a guy like T.J. Parker finally just explode onto the scene,” Mac Lain added. “Wade Woodaz had by far his best day. I thought Sammy Brown was really, really good. TJ Moore has been one of the best receivers in this conference all year, it’s just been getting him the ball, and he showed out. Had over 100 yards here.”
Moore finished with 101 yards on six receptions, while senior running back Adam Randall ran 24 times for 102 yards and a touchdown. Senior quarterback Cade Klubnik completed 24-of-39 passes for 268 yards and found the end zone on a rushing touchdown where he fumbled the ball but quickly recovered it before taking it in for a 3-yard score.
“Cade, this game was kind of like a summation of his career,” Mac Lain said. “This is a guy that his first real game ever, he was the MVP of the ACC Championship [in 2022], beating [North] Carolina handily. Having the super low sophomore year where there’s a lot of bad things happening, turnovers. Shooting up out of a rocket into a junior year, and then unfortunately having this year that they did here. But the play that summed it up was he pulls it, he’s running to the right, fumbles it – and I’m just like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding.’ And he picks it up and scores, and I’m just like, ‘What is happening?’”
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