Final: No. 3 Clemson 34, No. 24 South Carolina 10
Clemson (11-1, 8-1) walked into Williams-Brice Stadium with a chance to move up to #1 in the polls and made a statement for the top spot with a 34-10 dismantling of South Carolina (8-4, 5-3).
After No. 2 Miami lost to Pitt on Friday, and No. 1 Alabama fell 26-14 to Auburn earlier in the day, the Tigers were primed for a shot at the top spot, and they didn't disappoint.
The Tiger defense gave South Carolina fits throughout the game, so much so that the Gamecocks didn't take a snap in Clemson territory until the fourth quarter.
The Tigers were led by Kelly Bryant who completed 23 for 34 with two touchdowns and one interception. Freshman wideout Tee Higgins had a big day with 84 yards on three receptions.
But the story was Clemson's defense and their domination of South Carolina for a second consecutive season.
Brent Venables' group opened the contest forcing a South Carolina to punt after an initial first down moved the ball out to midfield for the Gamecocks. A theme that continued during the entire evening as South Carolina's inability to move the ball frustrated Gamecock fans and students.
Clemson's opening drive started at the 20-yard line, and the Tigers quickly moved towards the fifty-yard line. The drive stalled, but a Will Spiers punt, pinned South Carolina at the one-yard line, giving Clemson's defense an opportunity to strike, and they did.
On the second play of the series, Jake Bentley dropped back and didn't see Ryan Carter sitting on the route. Carter jumped up, and with no traffic in front of him, snagged the ball and waltz into the end zone from 12 yards giving Clemson a 7-0 lead with 6:51 left in the first quarter.
With the pick-six, Clemson has now scored a non-offensive touchdown in every road game this season.
On South Carolina's next possession, the Gamecocks once again moved the ball out to midfield, but facing a 3rd and 2, Clemson's defense stuffed the line of scrimmage and forced another South Carolina punt.
On Clemson's second possession of the night, the Tigers moved the ball 19 yards on five plays before another beautiful 57-yard punt from Will Spiers put South Carolina just outside the five-yard line.
The Gamecocks would again move the ball out towards midfield but, the Tigers held strong giving Clemson's offense another chance to strike from the 20-yard line.
After a four-yard rush by Travis Etienne, Bryant hit the Etienne on a 23-yard connection, moving the ball out to the 47. Then, facing 3rd and 10 Bryant hit Tee Higgins for 24 yards giving the Tigers another first down.
Two plays later, on a quarterback keeper, Bryant was hit out of bounds late giving Clemson the ball at the six-yard line. Tavien Feaster finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown run extending Clemson's lead to 14-0.
Another South Carolina punt led to Clemson's next possession which featured a 40-yard reception by Higgins as Clemson's talented freshman was highlighted throughout the first half.
The Tigers capped the drive running the same play they used to defeat Alabama as Bryant hit Hunter Renfrow for a 4-yard score. Bryant then proceeded to mimic Deshaun Watson and celebrated with an "airplane."
After a delay due to an unsportsmanlike call on Dabo Swinney, as he argued about items being thrown on the field, Alex Spence missed the extra point leaving the score at 20-0.
It would stand there until the first play of the third quarter when Renfrow caught a ball in the flats, made a host of Gamecocks miss en route to a 61-yard touchdown, extending Clemson's lead to 27-0.
In the second half things didn't improve for Bentley who promptly threw his second interception of the game as Trayvon Mullen pulled in an errant pass. The Tigers wouldn't capitalize on that mistake, but they soon would.
After forcing another Gamecock punt, the Garnet and Black did Clemson another favor that would lead to more points for the Tigers.
Following a 4th down punt, South Carolina was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct giving Clemson a first down at the 50-yard line.
The Tigers would ride Travis Etienne during the drive, and the freshman from Louisiana capped the drive with his 12th touchdown run of the season making it 34-0.
South Carolina scored their first points of the night after Bryant threw an interception deep in Clemson territory. South Carolina couldn't muster a yard, in fact, lost one, but Parker White knocked through a 40-yard field goal making the score 34-3.
Clemson's Hunter Johnson got in during the 4th quarter, and the freshman went 2 of 4 for 13 yards with a deep ball interception in the end zone on a 3rd and 16 play.
South Carolina would finally break through the end zone on their final drive of the night. Against mostly reserves, Bentley led a scoring drive after a 38-yard catch and run by Bryan Edwards making it 34-10.
Clemson closed out the final 2:44 with a Zerrick Cooper in at quarterback and Darien Rencher at running back. The Tigers ran out the final minutes, and Clemson fans celebrated their fourth consecutive win in the series.
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