CLEMSON – What a way to lose a game.
For most of the rivalry contest between Clemson and South Carolina on Saturday, it felt and looked like the Tigers were the better team. At the same time, Clemson never led by more than seven, and instead of putting a dangerous Gamecocks team away when they had the chance, and on more than one occasion, the Tigers let them hang around.
LaNorris Sellers would ultimately make Clemson pay. The redshirt freshman was the best player on the field and he would eventually bring South Carolina back and pretty much singlehandedly.
Sellers racked up 330 yards of total offense, including 166 on the ground. He was just that good. More often than not, when the pass rush got home, Sellers did his best Houdini impersonation and escaped. The South Carolina quarterback had five runs that went 20 yards or more, with three of those coming in the crucial final quarter. Oh, and his legs were responsible for both South Carolina touchdowns.
Inexplicable Fourth Quarter D
A day later, it is still hard to fathom why Clemson went with the nickel look in that fourth quarter. Who knows, the way Sellers was running the ball, the Gamecocks still might have found a way to win it, but it just felt like the yards he gained in that fourth quarter with Sammy Brown watching from the sideline came much easier than the ones he was picking up over the first three quarters. The Gamecocks racked up 140 rushing yards in that final, decisive quarter.
“We were just working the packages that we worked all week,” Swinney said. “Nothing wrong with Sammy or anything. We got into a little more nickel. We got into what we call cyclone, as well. Especially on some of the long yardage stuff. Felt like they were gonna have to change the way they were going to play.”
However, let’s not lose sight of the fact that the defense still only gave up 17 points. That should have gotten it done. But once South Carolina adjusted in the second half, Clemson’s offense went into hibernation.
Offense Goes MIA
Between the first drive of the second half and the final drive of the game, the Tigers managed just 58 yards of offense on four possessions. Two of those were three and outs, one coming after the Tigers recovered an onside kick. Once again, when the game was on the line, the offense just went missing in action. It’s become quite the trend in some of these games.
Klubnik Misses His Moment
It was all right there in front of Cade Klubnik. After South Carolina took a 17-14 lead with just over a minute left, Klubnik smoothly guided Clemson down to the Gamecocks 18-yard line with 17 seconds left. You could feel the electricity in the stadium at that moment.
With one timeout left, Klubnik had two shots to win it. To etch his name in Clemson lore. The junior quarterback was looking to go to the back corner of the end zone, but his first read was covered up. Instead of throwing it away and taking one more shot, Klubnik made an ill-fated decision and tried checking down to Phil Mafah. The pass was off-target and tipped right into the hands of a defender. Game over.
Even if it had been perfectly thrown, Mafah had nowhere to go. He was in the middle of the field and the Tigers would have had to burn the final timeout to get the field goal team out to try and send it into overtime.
Where Was Antonio?
Antonio Williams looked like he wanted this one. He reeled in five catches in the first half and three more in the third quarter. His finished just one yard shy of the century mark. However, when the game started getting away from Clemson in that fourth quarter and the Tigers needed someone to step up and make a play, Williams was not targeted a single time over the final 15 minutes. Williams has become Klubnik’s safety valve over the back half of the season and not once did he look the junior wideouts way in the fourth quarter.
Hindsight Is 20/20
Looking back, maybe the staff should have just turned to Nolan Hauser on the 4th and 1 from the South Carolina 11 midway through the first quarter. Those three points turned out to be huge. At the same time, it’s fair to wonder if the attempt even makes it over the line of scrimmage seeing as protection issues have led to six of Hauser’s field goals being blocked this season. And to be fair, the play was there. The Tigers came out in the jumbo package with DT Payton Page as one of the lead blockers for Phil Mafah. Page just missed the block.
Kudos to the Offensive Line
Matt Luke had his guys ready to play. Those elite defensive ends, Dylan Stewart and Kyle Kennard, were neutralized all afternoon. The only sack the Gamecocks had came on a play in which the Tigers thought they had caught a defender offsides.
It was an impressive performance against as good of a defensive front as they’ve seen all season. Add in the fact that Tristan Leigh and Marcus Tate had both missed the last three weeks and that makes even that much more impressive.
Yet the College Football Playoff Hopes Remain Alive
Despite the loss, Clemson is headed to the ACC Championship Game. And no, they did not back their way in. The Tigers finished a game ahead of Miami in the standings. There was no tiebreaker involved. They earned it by going 7-1 in league play. Even if they were only 2-2 outside of the ACC.
That means this team is still alive for a playoff spot. Who knows if they can beat SMU or what would even happen if they were to lock up a spot with a win, but at the end of the day, all you want is an opportunity, and this team still has one more.
A limited number of signed replica road signs from Cade Klubnik are available! Visit Clemson Variety & Frame or purchase online!
