Clemson will conclude the regular season with its annual rivalry tilt with South Carolina on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for noon. The game will be televised by ABC.
Clemson’s defense vs. South Carolina’s offense: South Carolina rolled up 606 yards and 63 points in its thrashing of Tennessee last week and still ranks just 77th nationally in total offense.
In other words, that explosion for the Gamecocks is an outlier until it’s not. It was only the second time this season Carolina has scored more than 30 points against a Power Five team.
Spencer Rattler has all kinds of potential at quarterback. He was once Lincoln Riley’s signal caller at Oklahoma after all. But, outside of his six-touchdown night against Tennessee, this season has largely been a struggle for Rattler, who had more interceptions (9) than touchdown passes (8) on the season before last week. He hasn’t gotten much help from the nation’s 96th-ranked rushing offense in large part because Carolina is banged up at running back. It’s to the point that tight end Jaheim Bell is lining up in the backfield at times.
So while Carolina deserves credit for its performance last week, particularly considering some its personnel issues, is an offense that’s been pedestrian for much of the season capable of coming close to replicating that performance against a defense that doesn’t rank in the triple digits nationally like Tennessee’s does (100th in total defense)? Because while Clemson has had its issues at times, the Tigers’ defense is nothing like the Volunteers’.
Clemson, fresh off a suffocating performance against Miami, will bring the nation’s No. 12 run defense, No. 18 total defense and No. 24 scoring defense into this matchup. The Tigers have been susceptible to the big play, but that’s not an area in which Carolina has excelled offensively. The Gamecocks rank in the bottom half of the SEC in plays of 20 yards or more.
Carolina is also giving up the fifth-most sacks in the SEC on a per-game basis (2.18). Meanwhile, Clemson has ratcheted up its pressure of late, tallying nine sacks over its last two games. The Gamecocks have also lost 23 turnovers this season, tied for sixth-most in the country. Advantage: Clemson
Clemson’s offense vs. South Carolina’s defense: The good new for Clemson’s offense is it has put together a couple of consistent games when it comes to moving the ball. After going for 450 yards against Louisville, the Tigers achieved a 200-yard split rushing and passing for just the second time this season against Miami last week.
The bad news is the unit continues to have a difficult time getting out of its own way. Clemson committed three more turnovers against Miami, giving the Tigers 12 in the last four games. Yet Clemson reached the 40-point mark against the Hurricanes, only the third time it’s done that against a Power Five team.
The key has been getting the ground game going. After going for more than 500 yards rushing in its previous two games, Clemson had 207 more against Miami. Quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei was the catalyst there with a career-high 89 yards on the ground, so there’s all kinds of versatility in the run game between him, Will Shipley, Phil Mafah and Kobe Pace, who scored a touchdown in his return to action last week.
Carolina isn’t the best defense to try to stop what Clemson is doing best right now. The Gamecocks rank 110th nationally against the run, allowing nearly 189 yards per game on the ground. Carolina’s strength, at least on paper, lies in its secondary, which is helping the Gamecocks hold teams to just 208 passing yards on average. But can Carolina slow Clemson down enough on the ground to force the Tigers’ hand?
Something else to consider here: Despite losing the turnover margin in the last four games, Clemson is 3-1 in those games with all of the wins coming at home. The Tigers have still averaged 32.6 points in those wins and have yet to be held to less than 30 points in their own stadium this season. It doesn’t always make sense, but it’s true. Advantage: Clemson
Special teams: Carolina is in the top 10 nationally in punting (42.4-yard average) and punt returns (18.7). Meanwhile, placekicker Mitch Jeter has been perfect so far, connecting on 9 of 9 field goals with a long of 53 yards.
For Clemson, B.T. Potter has been equally as solid in the field-goal department with a larger sample size (17 of 20), Antonio Williams has given the punt-return game a spark (8.5 yards per return), and Shipley (26.1 yards per return) is always a threat as a kickoff returner. And while it hasn’t gotten one in a while, Clemson still ranks in the top 6 nationally with four blocked kicks this season. Advantage: Draw
Bottom line: The same Carolina team that housed Tennessee also lost to Florida and Missouri earlier this season. Clemson is simply the better team that has the built-in advantage of playing this one at the place it’s won 40 in a row. Hardly anything has come easy for Clemson this season given its inconsistencies on both sides of the ball at times, but it’s hard to envision the Tigers not winning their eighth straight Palmetto Bowl.
Prediction: Clemson 31, South Carolina 17
Don’t miss Cyber Week Deals at Dear Old Clemson’s online store. Deals will run through midnight Monday.
- Footballs signed by the Clemson 2022 class discounted by 30%.
- Free Avengers unsigned poster with the purchase of a signed Avengers football
- Free signed Myles Murphy 8 by 10 picture with the purchase of Myles Murphy signed card
- Free 2022 class unsigned poster with purchase of signed Avengers poster
- Free #Team 4 unsigned poster with purchase of any signed softball
- Free unsigned Valerie Cagle card with purchase of any signed softball poster
- Free unsigned Bakich to Omaha poster with purchase of any signed baseball
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