COLUMBIA, S.C. — Clemson pitched its first shutout of South Carolina in 32 years Saturday to win its seventh straight game over its in-state rival, matching its longest winning streak in the series in the process. Here are four sequences that went a long way toward determining the outcome, a turning point and a telling stat from the Tigers’ 30-0 win at Williams-Brice Stadium.

• Clemson got off to a fast start when it drove 73 yards in seven plays on its opening possession to strike first. After D.J. Uiagalelei scrambled for 22 yards on third-and-11 to keep the drive alive in Carolina territory, Will Shipley took the handoff, cut back and raced 29 yards for the game’s first touchdown. The Tigers increased their lead later in the first quarter when Andrew Booth notched his first of two first-half interceptions to give the offense the ball back at the Gamecocks’ 13-yard line. Clemson went three-and-out, but B.T. Potter connected on a 30-yard field goal to quickly put the Tigers up by two scores with 2 minutes, 40 seconds left in the opening quarter.
• The Tigers forced their third three-and-out on Carolina’s final possession of the first quarter, and Clemson took over at its own 21 after Kai Kroeger’s 43-yard punt. Clemson used a pass and three runs to move into Carolina territory before Kobe Pace capped a seven-play, 79-yard touchdown drive with a 34-yard dash up the gut on third-and-2 to extend Clemson’s lead to 17-0 with 12:10 left in the second quarter. The Gamecocks kept things from getting worse for the time being when they turned Clemson over on downs on the Tigers’ next possession, but Carolina’s momentum was short-lived when Booth extended to pick off Jason Brown’s deep ball near the goal line to get the ball back to the offense.
• After Potter’s third field goal early in the fourth quarter, Carolina drove into Clemson territory for the first time in the second half. Zeb Nolan, inserted for starting quarterback Jason Brown, started the drive with three completions, including a 16-yarder to Josh Vann, and ZaQuarious White’s 6-yard run on fourth-and-1 kept the Gamecocks’ drive alive at the Tigers’ 38. But a false start moved Carolina back to start its next set of downs, and Nolan’s 7-yard pass to Vann on third-and-15 left the Gamecocks facing fourth down. Carolina went for it, but K.J. Henry came off the edge to sack Nolan, keeping the Tigers’ shutout intact.
• Things didn’t get any better offensively for Carolina with Nolan under center. The Gamecocks turned it over on downs for their third straight possession late in the fourth quarter when Malcolm Greene broke up Nolan’s fourth-down pass at Carolina’s 25. The Tigers used five straight runs to set up fourth-and-2 from the Gamecocks’ 6. Freshman running back Phil Mafah punctuated the victory on the next snap with a touchdown run up the middle with 2:30 left.

Turning point

After Clemson extended its 17-0 halftime lead with a field goal from Potter to cap its first possession of the third quarter, Carolina had its best chance of putting points on the board after backing the Tigers up in the shadow of their own end zone. Will Spiers followed a three-and-out with a 32-yard punt that gave the Gamecocks the ball at Clemson’s 37. Kevin Harris ran for 9 yards on third-and-short to seemingly give Carolina a fresh set of downs, but the Gamecocks were called for holding, pushing them back to their own 39. Carolina went backward from there and ultimately turned the ball over on downs, and Clemson covered 27 yards on its next six plays to set up another field goal from Potter, this one from 47 yards out to put the Tigers up 23-0 and in complete control if they weren’t already.

Telling stat: 3.3

That’s how many yards Carolina averaged per play in Clemson’s first shutout of the season. Clemson suffocated the Gamecocks from the start, forcing three-and-outs and an interception on their first four possessions. Carolina mustered just 202 yards offense, including just 43 on the ground, and turned the ball over on downs on three of its final four possessions.