CLEMSON FOOTBALL

Clemson - USC Game Notes


by - Correspondent -

CLEMSON -- The injuries that had been reported out of both camps earlier in the week had little or no effect on Saturday's game.

Clemson linebacker Keith Adams suffered a concussion on Tuesday, but was full speed in warm-ups and during the game. Quarterback Woody Dantzler, while not spectacular, appeared as healthy as he has been since he injured his left foot in the North Carolina game. "The hook was ready (to take Dantzler out)," said Clemson coach Tommy Bowden. "I had done warmed it up."

Dantzler finished the game with 265 yards of total offense and finished the season with 2,638 yards of total offense, the most ever in a season at Clemson.

- South Carolina's Phillip Jones, Andre Offing and Kalimba Edwards were all listed as questionable coming into the game. They all played.

- Clemson's Aaron Hunt hit three field goals, including the game winner. They were his first field goals since he hit a 22-yarder against North Carolina on Oct. 21.

"Until you kick a game-winner, you're not a kicker," said Bowden. "Now you can call him a kicker."

- Both USC coach Lou Holtz and Clemson coach Tommy Bowden had plenty to say to the officials at the end of the first half. Holtz and Bowden nearly ran into each other while chasing down officials at the end of the second half. Holtz' beef was apparently with two long plays that went against the Gamecocks - one that was called back on an offensive pass interference and the other a non-call when Clemson receiver Rod Gardner caught a 40-yard pass.

Bowden declined to reveal the content of his conversation after the game, and said that considering the relatively even yardage of the penalties assessed both teams he was satisfied.

Clemson had 11 penalties for 93 yards while South Carolina was penalized eight times for 90 yards.

"We've averaged five penalties a game," said South Carolina coach Lou Holtz. "I don't think we've had an offensive pass interference penalty, maybe one. Maximum. There was one called on them (offensive pass interference penalty) and it was overruled because the ball was tipped. I have never seen a 50-yard spiral tipped."

- Clemson's Travis Zachery broke Lester Brown's 22-year-old record for touchdowns in a season. He now has 17. He also went over 1,000 yards for the season. He rushed 21 times for 84 yards giving him 1044 yards rushing for the season.

- The crowd of 85,500 was the third largest crowd in Memorial Stadium history. The largest crowd was last season against Florida State when 86,092 packed the stadium. USC fans were not under-represented at the game. Most of the North upper deck was filled with USC fans as well as part of the West end zone stands.

- Justin Watts had two catches for 14 yards in his final home game.

- The win gave Clemson its first nine-win season since 1991 when Clemson finished 9-1-1. "Our team has played extremely hard this year," said Bowden. "We've played really well. We suffered some injuries and worked through some things that made it more difficult."

- Alex Ardley had two interceptions, giving him six for the year - the most in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Ardley, a junior, now has 12 interceptions in his career. Clemson's all-time leader is Terry Kindard with 17 interceptions.

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