Quarterback Stephen Garcia fired an interception on Carolina’s first series but from that point forward, the offense threw punches to the gut of the Tigers. The Gamecocks attacked the visitors running the ball up the middle all game long using a variety of ball carries.
Garcia, along with running backs Brian Maddox and Kenny Miles torched the Tigers between the tackles running for 227 yards on the afternoon.
Carolina rolled up 391 yards of total offense as Clemson couldn’t find an answer all afternoon. Garcia passed for just 126 yards but threw three touchdowns. He also played a pivotal role in the ground game rushing 14 times for 46 yards.
“We ran the ball and that’s obviously what we need to do to win,” head coach Steve Spurrier said. “A lot of people advised us to do that and we took heed to that. We took heed that we need to keep the ball on the ground.”
Clemson could find little room to run and received remained blanketed for much of the game. The visitors could muster only 260 yards of total offense while Spiller rushed for a measly 18 yards on nine carries.
“The defense was outstanding,” Spurrier said. “We stopped them so many times. Spiller had nine rushes for 18 yards. We had some good tackles on him.”
Following the game, even Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney conceded his team was comprehensively beaten.
“It’s just not a good feeling when you fail at something,” Swinney said. “We had an opportunity to achieve one of our goals today and we failed to do it and that’s extremely disappointing.”
“No real earth shattering news here. We didn’t do what it takes to win on the road,” Swinney said.
The Clemson offense never found their way into the South Carolina red zone never taking a snap deeper than the 24-yard line of the Gamecocks.
“We were ready to play but you still have to go play,” Spurrier said. “We didn’t play perfectly, we had some mess ups here and there, but it worked out for us.”
A bold Shane Beamer elected to have Adam Yates boot the opening kickoff to Spiller. The crowd went crazy as Brandan Davis hauled down the dangerous return man inside the 25-yard line. Those cheers subsided when D.J. Swearinger was flagged for being offsides.
Kicking from five yards deeper, Yates again boomed it to Spiller who waited patiently at the 12-yard line. The senior hit a gaping hole on the left side and went untouched 88 yards to paydirt. Just like that, a positive turned into a negative and the Gamecocks were behind just 19 seconds into the game.
Carolina went to work on offense and looked skiddish on the opening drive. While it did move the ball, the offense nearly lost a fumble while almost having a pass intercepted. Facing third and ten from the Clemson 32-yard line, Garcia had his pass intercepted by safety Rashard Hall putting the Tigers’ offense on the field for the first time.
Quarterback Kyle Parker completed a pair of passes and a questionable personal foul penalty moved Clemson into South Carolina territory. Sophomore Jamie Harper then took his second handoff over the left side where Akeem Auguste delivered a blow.
Harper fumbled and four USC defenders scrambled towards the loose ball. Linebacker Eric Norwood pounced and returned it 16 yards before stumbling at the 40-yard line.
That’s when the Wildcock débuted. Freshman Stephon Gilmore broke the huddle with the offense carrying three times up the middle for 13 yards. Facing second down and eight, Gilmore faked another run up the middle before dropping back and lofting a pass towards Alshon Jeffery.
“We planned it (for the second possession. (Gilmore said) “Coach you’ve been saying that all year and I haven’t been in yet,’” Spurrier recalled his freshman saying. “The thing about Stephon is he can make guys miss. He needs the ball.”
The freshman to freshman connection was true as Jeffery leaped over Chris Chancellor bringing down the 39-yard completion and setting up a first and goal from the eight. Two more runs up the middle from Gilmore set up Brian Maddox’s one-yard touchdown run to the pylon.
With that score, Carolina had successfully answered Clemson’s early shot.
Placekicker Spencer Lanning entered for a sky kick fielded by Harper and it was time for the defense to go to work and create another big play. After giving up a first down on a 16-yard completion to Jacoby Ford, the CU offense was forced into a third down and long.
Parker dropped back to pass and fired a bullet over the middle towards Terrence Ashe. Freshman Devonte Holloman stepped in front and hauled in the pass for USC’s sixth interception of the season. With nothing but green grass in front of him, Holloman ran 54 yards down the sideline before Ford was able to track him down at the 11-yard line.
“I had been watching film all week and they had certain tendencies,” Holloman said. “It happened just like it always happens. I ended up jumping in front of it and making a good play.”
After Garcia carried up the middle for a gain of two, the sophomore signal-caller found Weslye Saunders drifting out into the flats. The tight end stepped over an attempted tackle by DeAndre McDaniel and high-stepped into the end zone to put the Gamecocks on top.
After forcing a pair of turnovers on the first two Clemson drives, the defense continue to hold strong. The Tigers went three and out on a trio of rushing attempts and punter Dawson Zimmerman was called upon to kick it away.
The USC offense sputtered put Lanning was roughed on his punt attempt giving USC a first down at Clemson’s 47-yard line. The drive again stalled at the 30-yard line but Lanning continued his perfect streak from 40-49 yards drilling a 47-yarder to tie his career long.
That kick put the Gamecocks on top 17-7 with just over 10 minutes left in the second quarter.
After teams traded punts, Clemson took over at their own 14-yard line with seven minutes to play in the first half. The defense got after Parker and forced a three and out punt from the teeth of the end zone.
Defensive end Devin Taylor pressured Zimmerman’s punt that traveled just across the line of scrimmage. Antonio Allen whiffed on the recovery and Clemson dove on the football giving them a fresh set of downs at their own 27-yard line.
Parker found tight end Michael Palmer to convert a third down out to the 42-yard line and the drive and it looked like the Tigers may start to find something offensively. After three runs up the middle totaling 17 yards, two Parker incompletions later, the Tigers were forced to punt again.
With the ball at their own 20-yard line with 2:23 remaining, the Gamecocks were content to run out the clock on the half and take a two score lead into the locker room.
After the opening kickoff return, USC controlled the game out-gaining their opponents 210 to 101 in total yardage while holding a three minute edge in time of possession.
The Carolina offense stumbled out of the blocks in the second half going three and out but Lanning’s 48-yard punt was only returned two yards by Spiller. Linebacker Shaq Wilson blew up Spiller for a loss of two on first down. A slip screen to Spiller at wideout looked like a positive play for the Tigers but when Darian Stewart crunched the CU senior, the ball popped loose.
“You have to be able to take care of the ball,” Spiller said. “Playing against a team like that, you just can’t do it or you’ll get the same results every time.”
Gilmore hopped on the ball giving USC possession at the 35-yard line. Garcia found Jeffery for 10 yards to convert a third down as the Gamecocks inched closer to the red zone.
Stewart and the rest of the defense forced three turnovers on the day after failing to register one since the Alabama game.
“One thing coach Johnson talked about this whole week was that we haven’t been forcing too many turnovers,” Stewart said. “This week we really wanted to concentrate on that and be a tougher defense. It’s been frustrating but we knew what we had to do and were able to do it today.”
Carolina could go no further than that and Lanning was called upon to boot a 42-yard field goal. For the first time this season, he missed. Da’Quan Bowers elevated and got a hand on the attempt that rolled harmlessly into the end zone and the score stayed at 17-7.
It was the first blocked kick of any kind for the Tigers this season.
The defense responded forcing a three and out. Zimmerman’s short punt was returned 15 yards out to the Clemson 45 giving the offense good field position to work with. Garcia and the Gamecocks went to work.
Garcia found senior Moe Brown on a flea flicker for 25 yards and out of bounds at the 27-yard line of the Tigers. Running back Kenny Miles then rushed up the middle for 13 putting USC back in the red zone. On first down, Garcia found freshman Tori Gurley wide open in the back of the end zone. After bobbling the ball initially, the wide out brought it in getting one foot down giving USC a three-score lead.
The teams traded punts and the Tigers were back to work on offense. The visitors drove into Carolina territory but Stewart blew up Ford on a third down slip screen and Clemson was forced to punt again, their seventh of the ball game.
South Carolina looked to be headed on another scoring drive when Garcia found Gurley again for 36 yards out to midfield. On third down and two, Maddox was tackled for a loss forcing the Gamecocks to punt.
It looked like the Tigers would go three and out again but Cliff Matthews was given his second personal foul penalty of the game, this one for a helmet to helmet hit on Parker. That kept the drive alive and the CU quarterback found Palmer over the middle for a 26-yard gain.
The drive stalled at the 28-yard line and the Tigers had to settle for a field goal attempt. The 45-yarder was true from placekicker Richard Jackson cutting the USC lead to 24-14 with 11:23 left in the game.
The Carolina offense didn’t waiver though. After Bryce Sherman’s return to the 30-yard line, the running game went to work. Miles ripped off a 22-yard run to midfield as he topped the 100-yard plateau for the third time this season.
“We felt like they’d try to run it and they blocked us pretty good,” Swinney said. “We didn’t do a good job of tackling the quarterback… We’ve got to be able to stop the run and we didn’t do a good job of that today.”
Spurrier dialed up 10 plays on the drive, all rushes, which resulted in a 38-yard field goal attempt by Lanning from the left hash mark. The junior’s kick was true as the Gamecocks restored their three-score lead moving ahead 27-10 with 5:27 left in the contest.
Clemson’s onside kick failed as Jeffery recovered and sprinted all the way to the Clemson nine-yard line. A penalty moved the ball to the four as Steve Spurrier, Jr. punched the glass of the press box yelling “Let’s go score!”
And score they did. After three runs up the gut, Spurrier elected to go for it on fourth down from the one-yard line. Garcia faked the handoff and found Saunders in the back of the end zone for his second receiving touchdown of the game.
Clemson could manage nothing else as the crowd at Williams-Brice exploded when Parker’s fourth down pass fell incomplete with 1:01 remaining in the game. All Garcia needed to do was line up in the victory formation twice and the Gamecocks delivered a well-earned victory.
