CLEMSON — Order has been restored to the Clemson-South Carolina rivalry.
The Tigers took care of the Gameocks 28-14 on Saturday, giving Dabo Swinney his ninth win in the rivalry series in the last 11 meetings. With the victory, Clemson has now won six straight in Williams-Brice.
Clemson improves to 74-44-4 all-time against South Carolina, which is a pretty substantial gap, proving exactly how one-sided this rivalry has been over the years.
The Tigers harassed LaNorris Sellers most of the day, sacking him five times and intercepting him twice, which is a stark contrast to what transpired in Clemson last season. It would seem Tom Allen’s unit came in determined not to let Sellers embarrass them again, so mission accomplished in that regard. Unlike last year, when they got their hands on him, they brought him down.
Getting Defensive
The defense stepped up and delivered in this one. While it hasn’t always been pretty on that side of the ball this season, what we saw on Saturday is what was expected when Allen was hired after last season.
The Tigers held the Gamecocks to just 1-of-11 on third down and 41 rushing yards. South Carolina only possessed the ball for a total of 21:16.
Clemson forced four turnovers and improved to 4-1 on the season when it wins the turnover margin. The Tigers also broke up 11 passes, with Wade Woodaz and Sammy Brown combining for four of those.
It wasn’t perfect. Both of the SC touchdowns came on big plays in the passing game that probably shouldn’t have happened. Those two plays accounted for about 25% of their offensive production and all of their points. But that’s football.
Ricardo Jones
Jones etched his name among some other Clemson greats to have shone against the Gamecocks. The sophomore safety was on the receiving end of both of Sellers’ picks and returned one for a touchdown, which put the game away.
There is no denying that Jones has experienced some growing pains along the way, but his performance on Saturday showed he can be a valuable asset on the backend. Jones certainly has a nose for the ball, as evidenced by his six interceptions this season.
No Terrell, No Problem
Who else thought the Tigers were in trouble after Avieon Terrell had to exit the game? Outside of some plays in garbage time with the fourth quarter winding down, the pass defense held up pretty well in the second half with Terrell on the sidelines.
Ashton Hampton had some success against Nick Harbor over the final two quarters. Harbor had four catches in the second half, with one going for 23 yards, but the other three were each less than 15 yards. On the final one, Ronan Hanafin dislodged the ball, forcing a fumble.
Cade Goes Out a Winner
This was a pretty big win for Cade Klubnik. There’s no doubt he’s lived with that game-ending pick in the waning seconds last season for a year now with the Tigers in range of a chip-shot field goal that would have sent the game into overtime.
Klubnik will now leave Clemson 2-1 as a starter against the Gamecocks. While his career hasn’t been what most envisioned it would be with the Tigers, Klubnik is now just the 13th Clemson quarterback since 1953 to earn multiple rivalry wins against South Carolina as a starting quarterback.
The senior went 24-of-39 for 268 yards with a rushing touchdown. He did throw an interception on an underthrown ball to Adam Randall that, if thrown on target, would have resulted in a touchdown. However, Klubnik once again left it all out on the field. One thing that can’t be questioned about his Clemson career is his effort.
Moore Quietly Hits Century Mark
T.J. Moore quietly went over the 100-yard mark for the third time this season. He reeled in six catches and averaged right at 17 yards per reception. Moore is now averaging 16.4 yards per catch this season and has been a very bright spot for the offense much of the season.
Randall Gets Tough Yards
Randall also went over the 100-yard mark, averaging more than four yards per carry against a really good defensive front. It is the fourth time he’s hit the century mark this season and one more example of what the converted wideout can do when given ample opportunity.
Oftentimes, Randall didn’t have much room to run. At times, he made something out of what looked like nothing. The converted wideout has turned into a more than serviceable back. It would have been nice to see what he could have done had that move been made a year earlier. But you know what they say about hindsight.
Photo by Bart Boatwright