Jordan McFadden seeks to keep streak alive against South Carolina

Clemson looks to get the ground game going in the rivalry matchup.

by Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Tue Nov 22 17:12:03 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON - After a dominant win against Miami to clinch being undefeated in the ACC, the Tigers are now taking on the rival South Carolina Gamecocks. Clemson has not lost to them since 2014, and that is a streak all of the Tigers, including fifth-year offensive lineman, Jordan McFadden, intend to defend this coming Saturday (12 p.m./ABC).

“I’ve never lost to (South) Carolina,” McFadden said. “So, that’s something, growing up a Clemson fan, I want to keep going even when I’m not here for as long as possible.”

South Carolina has not come into their game against Clemson as a ranked team since the two faced off in November of 2013 when the Gamecocks were No. 10 in the country. However, after defeating the No. 5 team in the country in the Tennessee Volunteers in a dominant 63-38 performance, the Gamecocks have shown that they can be a competitive team, even against the ranked teams.

“I was a little surprised, but as we know, this is college football for you,” McFadden said. “Anything can happen on any given day.”

This was a lesson learned the hard way for the Tigers this season, losing to Notre Dame earlier in the season. While they still have a 10-1 record, they will still have some difficulty getting back into the playoffs with Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, and Texas Christian all undefeated, albeit incredibly close for Michigan and TCU. This is something that McFadden has been paying attention to throughout the season. Nonetheless, the team is still focusing on taking it one game at a time.

“You definitely look around the country and kind of what’s going on,” McFadden said. “But, I think my biggest thing and something that Coach Swinney has been preaching to us is, ‘Take care of what we can kind of control from this point on.’ If we win out, different things like that, I like where we’ll be a little better. If we win out, I think things will take care of themselves.”

The Tigers are looking to extend their ACC record-breaking win streak at home to 41 consecutive victories, as well as staying in the playoff hunt. All in all, both of these teams have a lot to play for and McFadden argues that this will create a great atmosphere for the Tigers on Saturday.

“With them obviously beating Tennessee this past weekend, I think this will be a great environment,” McFadden said. “It’ll be an early game, but I know our fans will show up. It will be an awesome atmosphere.”

Adding to the pressure for the Tigers, there has been some inconsistent play from junior quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. Uiagalelei had a strong start to the season, throwing for over 1,000 yards in the month of September, as well as having 10 touchdowns and three interceptions. In October and November combined, he has thrown for 11 touchdowns and five interceptions. McFadden sticks by his quarterback, however, as he is always putting the team first.

“Even when he’s playing football, he’s the same person,” McFadden said. “He’s supportive of Cade (Klubnik), the whole offense. He wants to see the offense and the team succeed, whether he’s in there or not.”

In discussing the Gamecocks, McFadden talked about their physical defensive line. This physicality, however, has not been reflected in the statistics, as they only have 17 sacks this season, compared to Clemson’s defense which has 32 sacks.

“They’re athletic and kind of big up front. (Senior) Zacch Pickens is a baller, and (Junior) Jordan Burch as well. Those guys are ballers. Definitely going to have to prepare and be ready for them,” McFadden said. “Those guys are dangerous when they want to be. We have to show that we’re ready to go.”

Burch currently has 3.5 sacks this season and 7.5 tackles for loss while Pickens has 39 tackles and has recovered a fumble, as well as defending three passes. However, the Gamecock defense as a whole ranks No. 110 in rushing defense and No. 43 in passing defense. The rush, then, is something that Clemson will be looking to exploit as they are No. 44 in the country there, averaging 184.4 rushing yards per game.