After Clemson’s 37-32 victory Saturday, head coach Dabo Swinney rattled off the issues his team had to address coming off last year’s 10-win squad – the entirely new offensive line, the 11 defenders lost to the National Football League or injury, the turnover at all key special teams positions.
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“The only thing the meeting was really about was Coach Tanner wanted to hear what we thought about the situation”, Orth said. That led to a Shon Carson touchdown run to bring the game within three after a two-point conversion by Lorenzo Nunez.
The Gamecocks trimmed the Tigers lead late in the second quarter when SC kicker Elliott Fry striped a chip shot field goal to get USC on the board.
Things got off to a very promising start for the Gamecocks and their defense as they forced, and recovered, a pair of fumbles in the first quarter – but couldn’t take advantage.
Prediction: Clemson goes on the road to Williams-Brice Stadium to take on their in-state rival, South Carolina.
USC battled back from an 18-point deficit in the second half to give Clemson somewhat of a scare. The only other year Clemson won 12 games was 1981 when the Tigers were 12-0 in winning the National Championship. The Tigers were pushed hard by the upset-minded Gamecocks, but they withstood the challenge thanks in large part to a superhuman effort from quarterback DeShaun Watson. SC entered 3-8 and was fresh off a loss to the Citadel under interim coach Shawn Elliott.
Clemson will play North Carolina in the ACC Championship game next week, both teams are now unbeaten in conference play. North Carolina reached 11 wins for the fourth time in program history, compiling 553 yards of total offense in avenging a lopsided loss to N.C. State from past year. Many Clemson players are still looking for payback from several years of Gamecock domination.
Clemson’s rise and South Carolina’s fall came at inopportune times for this rivalry. Every game they’ve played has come down to the final whistle. In that game Watson had three touchdown passes, two interceptions. Demetrious Cox returned a fumble 77 yards for a touchdown and Malik McDowell scored on a 13-yard interception return.
“I think sad that you’re even asking the question, but that’s the world we live in because anybody can say anything, any time and all that type of stuff”, Swinney said.
On defense, the Tigers has a sturdy unit led by B.J Goodson, who has 71 tackles.
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No. 15 TCU 28, No. 7 BAYLOR 21, 2OT: On Friday in Fort Worth, Texas, Trevone Boykin threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to KaVontae Turpin in the second overtime to lift TCU on a rainy night, knocking the Bears out of contention for their third straight Big 12 title. The Gamecocks are expected to be in for a long day against the Tigers as they aim to try and save something from this season.
