Same Old Story

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COLUMBIA – The Clemson Tigers won most of the statistical battles against South Carolina Saturday night, but those stats unfortunately included turnovers and penalties in a game in which Clemson giftwrapped a win for the Gamecocks with a big old garnet-colored bow.

Adam HumphriesAdam Humphries
Jr. Wide Receiver
#13 5-11, 190
Spartanburg, SC
View Full Profile fumbled away two punts, Tajh BoydTajh Boyd
RS Sr. Quarterback
#10 6-1, 225
Hampton, VA
View Full Profile fumbled away a possession deep in South Carolina territory and threw two late interceptions and Sammy WatkinsSammy Watkins
Jr. Wide Receiver
#2 6-1, 205
Fort Myers, FL
View Full Profile ended the game’s opening drive by throwing an interception in the end zone. The Tigers also committed seven penalties, several of which came on third down or fourth down, and the Gamecocks avoided the big mistake in defeating Clemson 31-17 at Williams-Brice.

The win was the fifth in a row in the series for the Gamecocks, but the Tigers can only blame themselves for a loss that will sting for a long time.

Now the Tigers have to wait on the bowl selection process – will it be an invite to the Orange Bowl after stinking up the joint in Columbia, or will a second straight trip to the Chick-fil-A Bowl materialize?

Clemson took the opening kickoff and marched easily into Gamecock territory, but a trick play in which Sammy Watkins tried a pass to Adam Humphries was intercepted in the end zone, thwarting the first possession.

South Carolina then went on a 17-play drive that ended with a Connor Shaw three-yard run, and the Gamecocks were up 7-0 late in the first quarter.

After the long drive, the Tigers needed an answer and they got it. Two plays into the ensuing drive, Boyd hit Watkins over the middle for a gain of 57 yards, and two plays later Boyd sprinted in from eight yards out to tie the score at 7-7 with 2:45 remaining in the first quarter.

The Clemson defense forced a 3-and-out by the Gamecocks, but trouble on special teams cost the Tigers on the punt. Wide receiver Martavis BryantMartavis Bryant
Jr. Wide Receiver
#1 6-5, 200
Calhoun Falls, SC
View Full Profile bumped into returner Adam Humphries, and South Carolina recovered the loose ball. Five plays later, they had a 14-7 lead on the strength of the two Clemson turnovers.

The Tigers went 3-and-out on their next possession, and the Gamecocks kept up the gameplan through the first part of the game – muddle around on first and second down and convert on third-and-long. That led to a short field goal for a 17-7 lead midway through the second quarter.

The Tigers finally got a stop from the defense late in the first half, and a 10-play drive ended with a 38-yard field goal by Chandler CatanzaroChandler Catanzaro
Gr. Punter / Kicker
#39 6-2, 195
Greenville, SC
View Full Profile as time expired, making it 17-10 South Carolina at intermission.

A long kickoff return set up the Gamecocks in Clemson territory to begin the second half, but the drive stalled when Shaw came up short on 4th-and-1 inside the Clemson 20-yard line, the first bit of good news for the Clemson defense on the night.

The teams then traded possessions, and a South Carolina punt pinned the Tigers at their own 12-yard line with just over nine minutes remaining in the third quarter. What happened next was one of the most impressive drives of the season for the Tigers, who ran the ball nine times on a 15-play drive that covered 88 yards and took over six minutes off the clock.

The drive was helped by an offsides penalty on South Carolina on a 4th-and-1 play in which Boyd was stuffed for a loss, but penalty kept the drive alive and McDowell found paydirt on a four-yard sprint around the right side, making it 17-17 late in the third quarter.

The Gamecocks took over, and just like a penalty helped out on a Clemson scoring drive, a similar penalty on Clemson’s defense kept a South Carolina scoring drive alive, a drive that ended with a two-yard Mike Davis run that made it 24-17 with 11:47 left on the clock.

The Tigers tried to answer and drove inside the South Carolina 30-yard line, but Boyd fumbled away the drive for Clemson’s third turnover of the night. The defense stopped South Carolina and forced a punt, but Humphries fumbled away the second punt of the night deep in Clemson territory, and the Gamecocks added a touchdown that made it 31-17 with just under four minutes to play.

The Tigers might have had one final shot, but Boyd’s first pass of the ensuing drive was picked for the Tigers’ fifth turnover of the night, sending the stadium into a frenzy. Boyd then threw two late interceptions to seal the loss.

Score by Quarters     1  2  3  4   Score


-----------------    -- -- -- --   -----


Clemson.............  7  3  7  0  - 17       Record: (10-2,7-1)


South Carolina......  7 10  0 14  - 31       Record: (10-2,6-2)




Scoring Summary:


1st 04:23 SC - Connor Shaw 3 yd run (Elliott Fry kick), 17-80 8:13, CU 0 - SC 7


    02:45 CU - BOYD 8 yd run (CATANZARO kick), 4-75 1:38, CU 7 - SC 7


2nd 14:54 SC - Shaq Roland 9 yd pass from Connor Shaw (Elliott Fry kick), 5-39 1:27, CU 7 - SC 14


    08:25 SC - Elliott Fry 21 yd field goal, 13-65 5:06, CU 7 - SC 17


    00:00 CU - CATANZARO 38 yd field goal, 10-53 3:07, CU 10 - SC 17


3rd 03:01 CU - McDOWELL 4 yd run (CATANZARO kick), 15-88 6:48, CU 17 - SC 17


4th 11:47 SC - Mike Davis 2 yd run (Elliott Fry kick), 11-75 6:14, CU 17 - SC 24


    03:44 SC - Brandon Wilds 26 yd pass from Pharoh Cooper (Elliott Fry kick), 3-34 1:34, CU 17 - SC 31




                                     CU       SC


FIRST DOWNS...................       18       21


RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............   29-127   50-140


PASSING YDS (NET).............      225      178


Passes Att-Comp-Int...........  28-19-3  28-15-0


TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS.....   57-352   78-318


Fumble Returns-Yards..........      0-0      0-0


Punt Returns-Yards............     2-14      1-3


Kickoff Returns-Yards.........     4-97     2-80


Interception Returns-Yards....      0-0     3-10


Punts (Number-Avg)............   3-35.0   5-36.6


Fumbles-Lost..................      3-3      2-0


Penalties-Yards...............     8-52     3-20


Possession Time...............    21:51    38:09


Third-Down Conversions........  6 of 11 10 of 19


Fourth-Down Conversions.......   0 of 0   0 of 1


Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      3-3      4-5


Sacks By: Number-Yards........     2-20     5-46





RUSHING: Clemson-McDOWELL 14-111; BOYD 15-16. South Carolina-Connor Shaw


22-94; Mike Davis 15-22; Pharoh Cooper 4-18; Bruce Ellington 1-7; Brandon Wilds


3-3; Shon Carson 2-2; TEAM 3-minus 6.


PASSING: Clemson-BOYD 19-27-2-225; S. WATKINS 0-1-1-0. South


Carolina-Connor Shaw 14-26-0-152; Pharoh Cooper 1-2-0-26.


RECEIVING: Clemson-S. WATKINS 7-93; HUMPHRIES 5-45; McDOWELL 2-31;


SECKINGER 2-25; BRYANT 1-18; M. WILLIAMS 1-9; COOPER 1-4. South Carolina-Bruce


Ellington 4-51; Shaq Roland 3-40; Damiere Byrd 3-26; Brandon Wilds 2-36; Mike


Davis 2-10; Connor McLaurin 1-15.


INTERCEPTIONS: Clemson-None. South Carolina-T.J. Holloman 1-10; Skai


Moore 1-0; Brison Williams 1-0.


FUMBLES: Clemson-HUMPHRIES 2-2; BOYD 1-1. South Carolina-Connor Shaw 2-0.


Stadium: Williams-Brice Stad.  Attendance: 84174


Kickoff time: 7:06 pm   End of Game: 10:31     Total elapsed time: 3:25


Officials: Referee: Jeff Flanagan; Umpire: Jim Eckl; Linesman: M. Fitzgerald;


Line judge: Hugh Campbell; Back judge: Tommy Pace; Field judge: Wayne Rundell;


Side judge: Stuart Mullins; Alternate: Jay Vines;


Temperature: 49        Wind: 2mph NNE  Weather: Mostly Cloudy

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