Clemson vs. South Carolina Prediction: Rivalry stakes have never been higher |
David Hood
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- Friday, November 29 2024
Saturday promises to dawn bright and cold, and thousands of college football fans from across the state and beyond will gather to watch one of the most important games in the history of the rivalry between Clemson and South Carolina.
The nation will also be watching. Clemson is ranked 12th in the College Football Playoff rankings, meaning both teams have a path to the new 12-team playoff. No. 15 South Carolina’s path is a little more convoluted and probably not possible, but a Clemson win places the Tigers in a fantastic spot. And, regardless of what happens between the rivals, the Tigers will turn their attention to what happens between Miami and Syracuse. A Miami loss to the Orange means Clemson will face SMU in the ACC Championship Game. In other words, Saturday is a big day. NO. 12/12/12 CLEMSON (9-2, 7-1 ACC) vs. NO. 16/14/15 SOUTH CAROLINA (8-3, 5-3 SEC) WHEN: SATURDAY, NOV. 30, NOON ET CLEMSON/SOUTH CAROLINA SERIES HISTORY - OVERALL: Clemson leads series, 73-43-4 - STREAK: Clemson, Won 1 NOTABLE *Saturday's contest will mark the 121st meeting of the Palmetto State rivals, but with both teams harboring at-large hopes for the expanded College Football Playoff, the game will arguably be one of the series' largest. With Clemson at 9-2 and South Carolina at 8-3, the teams' 17 combined wins are tied for the fifth-most entering the rivalry game in series history. It will mark only the fourth time the teams will meet with both squads ranked among the top 16 of the AP Poll (1987, 2012 and 2013). *Though Clemson's focus on Saturday will be entirely on the rivalry contest in Upstate South Carolina, a piece of Clemson's postseason destiny will run through Central New York. The Tigers finished 7-1 in ACC play on Nov. 16. Clemson can qualify for its record 10th ACC Championship Game if Miami (Fla.) were to lose at Syracuse in a game slated for 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday. *A win Saturday would be Clemson's eighth against power conference opponents in 2024 and would give the Tigers a win over the team with the SEC's longest active winning streak. Only three teams in the nation have more wins vs. power conferences than Clemson. *Clemson is attempting to produce its 20th 10-win season in program history. It would be Clemson's 13th 10-win season under Head Coach Dabo Swinney. *Clemson has six wins of double digits against power conference opponents, tied for the most in the nation. The teams tied with Clemson for the most wins of 10+ points against power conference competition are all currently in the AP Top 10: No. 1 Oregon, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Penn State, No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 6 Georgia, No. 9 SMU, and No. 10 Indiana. Clemson has seven wins of any margin against power conference opponents, tied for fourth in the nation and trailing only Oregon (eight), Penn State (eight) and SMU (eight). WHEN SOUTH CAROLINA HAS THE BALL South Carolina is on a roll. Winners of five straight, the Gamecocks bring a confident bunch into Death Valley, led by redshirt freshman quarterback LaNorris Sellers. Sellers has thrown for 2,110 yards (65.2%) with 17 touchdowns against six interceptions. He has also rushed for 489 yards with five touchdowns. Sellers isn’t your prototypical dropback quarterback – he isn’t going to sit in the pocket and dissect a defense. He has big play ability and magic happens when he escapes the pocket, with defenders bouncing off his pads. He can throw on the run, and the Gamecocks have earned some big plays when defenders leave their receiver and Sellers finds someone downfield. The Tigers almost need to have a spy on him – maybe Sammy Brown if the defense goes with a 3-3-5 or 4-3 look.
WHERE: MEMORIAL STADIUM (81,500), CLEMSON, S.C.
TELEVISION: ESPN (Roy Philpott, Sam Acho, Taylor Davis)
RADIO: Clemson Athletic Network (Don Munson, Tim Bourret, Reggie Merriweather)
SATELLITE RADIO: SiriusXM 161 or 193
- HOME: Clemson leads series, 19-11-1
- ROAD: Clemson leads series, 54-32-3
- NEUTRAL: N/A
- LAST MEETING: Nov. 25, 2023 (16-7, W)
Running back Rocket Sanders has rushed for 821 yards with 11 touchdowns but has really come on lately. The big target in the pass game is tight end Joshua Simon, who has 31 receptions for 433 yards and six touchdowns.
It would be good if linebacker Wade Woodaz is back – he has missed the last two games but is still second on the team with 56 tackles. Barrett Carter now leads with 61, and defensive end T.J. Parker leads the team (and is now in the national rankings) with nine sacks.
WHEN CLEMSON HAS THE BALL
Clemson needs health – or at least as healthy as you can be this time of year – out of its offensive line. Left tackle Tristan Leigh and left guard Marcus Tate have been trending in the right direction. But will they play? If the regular starting five can go – with Harris Sewell rotating – it will be huge.
Running back Phil Mafah has been a workhorse and has tallied over 1000 yards this season, while Antonio Williams has 58 receptions for 687 yards and tight end Jake Briningstool has 38 receptions.
The Gamecocks have a stud defensive end in Kyle Kennard, who has 11.5 sacks. Demetrius Knight and Bam Martin-Scott are two really good linebackers, and defensive back Nick Emmanwori has four interceptions.
But they are vulnerable to the big play, and Missouri had success running the football. The key in this one? Keeping Klubnik upright, and he has to make plays with his legs, whether it’s designed runs or making plays when the protection breaks down.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN
These teams are very even, which explains the tight point spread. Clemson has had issues with field goals and extra points, and the defense has had lapses in run defense that are inexplicable. South Carolina has warts, too. Clemson’s offense has failed to find a pulse against the good defenses they have played. And therein is the hangup for me….can the defense stop the run against an offense that wants to run it? Can the offense succeed against a good defense, with a banged up offensive line? This, to me, feels a lot like Notre Dame a year ago. I think I picked the Irish, and Clemson won. So…
FINAL SCORE: SOUTH CAROLINA 26, CLEMSON 20
TigerNet picks
David Hood - TigerNet senior writer - 26-20 South Carolina
Mickey Plyler - The Roar 105.5 morning show host - 27-24 Clemson
Nikki Hood - Staff writer - 28-20 Clemson
Brandon Rink - Associate editor - 24-22 Clemson
Tony Crumpton - Associate editor - 28-24 Clemson
Ryan Kantor - Contributing Writer - 31-30 South Carolina
Ariana Pensy - Intern - 34-33 Clemson
Merrell Mann - Photographer - 35-31 Clemson
Brooks Thomason - Intern - 20-17 Clemson
Grayson Mann - Staff writer - 30-21 South Carolina
| Game | Actual | David Hood | Plyler | Nikki Hood | Rink | Crumpton | Kantor | Pensy | M. Mann | Thomason | G. Mann |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 34-3 UGA | 27-24 CU | 23-21 CU | 24-17 CU | 29-20 UGA | 27-20 UGA | 28-21 UGA | 24-17 UGA | 17-14 CU | 27-21 UGA | 27-23 UGA |
| App State | 66-20 CU | 34-14 CU | 30-16 CU CU | 38-17 CU | 34-17 CU | 31-17 CU | 35-10 CU | 30-10 CU | 31-10 CU | 31-13 CU | 28-10 CU |
| NC State | 59-35 CU | 34-13 CU | 38-16 CU | 42-20 CU | 30-13 CU | 28-10 CU | 35-14 CU | 34-17 CU | 38-17 CU | 31-10 CU | 31-10 CU |
| Stanford | 40-14 CU | 44-20 CU | 48-17 CU | 38-10 CU | 44-16 CU | 42-14 CU | 41-17 CU | 45-17 CU | 48-21 CU | 40-20 CU | 41-17 CU |
| FSU | 29-13 CU | 41-13 CU | 42-10 CU | 42-17 CU | 38-16 CU | 35-14 CU | 40-14 CU | 55-7 CU | 44-20 CU | 31-16 CU | 45-14 CU |
| Wake Forest | 49-14 CU | 47-20 CU | 44-20 CU | 52-14 CU | 45-20 CU | 48-13 CU | 48-14 CU | 35-14 CU | 42-13 CU | 38-17 CU | 45-10 CU |
| Virginia | 48-31 CU | 38-16 CU | 42-17 CU | 38-17 CU | 44-20 CU | 45-14 CU | 47-14 CU | 45-17 CU | 45-13 CU | 42-20 CU | 41-17 CU |
| Louisville | 33-21 UL | 44-28 CU | 40-25 CU | 45-24 CU | 40-21 CU | 34-21 CU | 49-31 CU | 37-27 CU | 42-27 CU | 41-28 CU | 38-21 CU |
| Va Tech | 24-14 CU | 30-23 CU | 30-20 CU | 28-17 CU | 26-22 CU | 24-17 CU | 41-28 CU | 28-24 CU | 30-24 CU | 31-20 CU | 23-21 CU |
| Pitt | 24-20 CU | 27-16 CU | 31-17 CU | 28-12 CU | 31-16 CU | 31-21 CU | 35-17 CU | 27-20 CU | 34-24 CU | 24-21 CU | 31-17 CU |
| The Citadel | 51-14 CU | 52-6 CU | 44-14 CU | 55-7 CU | 44-7 CU | 56-7 CU | 46-14 CU | 45-10 CU | 42-17 CU | 52-17 CU | 56-17 CU |
| Points | - | 9 | 9 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 10 |
* Points: 3 pts for best correct prediction of the week (tiebreaker is Clemson score), 2 pts for picking score exactly, 1 pt for picking the correct winner
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