South Carolina/Clemson Review

Words cannot describe the feelings I had Saturday night around eleven o’clock but here are a few:

1. Three-peat
2. Back-to-Back-to-Back
3. State Champs
4. 97-39 (last three years)
5. “$34.13” A-She-She Championship tickets for sale!

This game illustrates the difference between the Southeastern Conference versus the A-She-She Conference. USC was clearly the more physical team along the line of scrimmage (LOS) both offense and defense. USC controlled both sides of the ball and absolutely dominated Clemson in the trenches. South Carolina took it on the chin in the SEC wars with marginal success (2000 & 2001) but most often wound up on the losing side of the scoreboard, because USC lacked depth & toughness in the trenches. Saturday night the Gamecocks d-line lived on the other side of the LOS and manhandled an inferior Clemson o-line. USC’s o-line punched Clemson in the mouth continuously and consistently opened running lanes for Shaw, Miles & Wilds. The reversal of fortunes in this series did a complete 180-degree turn on November 28, 2009, when Steve Spurrier decided he was going to run the football right at the Clemson Tigers. Let’s take a look at the Good, the Bad and the Ugly from Saturday night’s Palmetto state showdown.

The Good:
→Steve Spurrier won his 54th game as Head Football Coach at the University of South Carolina. Spurrier is now 54-35 in less than seven full seasons at South Carolina. That is a (.607%) winning percentage. Spurrier is second all-time on USC’s Career Wins List for USC football coaches, trailing only Rex Enright (64 all-time wins).

→Steve Spurrier improves to 4-3 overall record against Clemson.

→South Carolina has won back-to-back-to-back games versus Clemson for the second time in school history. The landmark accomplishment was first achieved back in 1968, ’69 & ’70.

→The 14-member senior class earned more victories (33) than any other senior group in South Carolina football history. The group has at least one more chance to set the bar even higher with a win in the bowl game.

→Sixth-year seniors LB Rodney Paulk and OL Terrence Campbell are 4-2 versus Clemson in their USC careers. Paulk and Campbell are members of the 2006 USC Signing Day class.

→Regular season recipe for success as the Gamecocks have won 13 of their last 15 games.

→Protect this house has become the mantra for the USC football team inside the cockpit. South Carolina is 20-3 (87%) over the last 23 games at Williams-Brice.

→Wide Receiver Alshon Jeffrey has now caught a pass in 35 straight games. The Calhoun County native is eight games shy of tying the school leader, Kenny McKinley, at 43.

→Alshon Jeffrey needs one more touchdown reception (22) to tie Sidney Rice’s all-time TD receptions record (23) at USC.

→The USC Rushing attack eclipsed 200 yards rushing for the eighth time this season (8-0 record). Carolina rushed for greater than 200 yards versus ECU, UGA, Navy, UK, UT, UF, The Citadel and Clemson. The Gamecocks now rank 27th in Rushing Offense (198 rushing yards/game), after their 210-yard performance against the Tigers. USC improves to 18-0 under Steve Spurrier when USC runs for 200-plus yards.

→Redshirt junior Kenny Miles probable last performance in a Gamecocks uniform will leave a lasting impression on USC fans. The Georgia native kept the chains moving, gaining tough yards between the tackles.

→WR Bruce Ellington hauling in his first touchdown reception of the season on a beautiful 49-yard pass from Shaw.

→The Connor Shaw Show was double-trouble for the Tigers defense. The sophomore completed 14-20 passes (70%), 210 yards and three touchdown passes. Shaw also was the Gamecocks leading rusher with 19 carries for 107 yards and a touchdown. Shaw accounted for all four USC touchdowns Saturday night.

→A half dozen touchdown passes for Connor Shaw in the last two games gives the USC quarterback back-to-back weeks of three-touchdown pass performances.

→Shaw’s 107 yards rushing marked a career high and the first time a USC quarterback had gone over the 100-yard mark since 09/14/2002 when Corey Jenkins gained 102 yards rushing versus UGA, per John Whittle, TheBigSpur.

→The Gamecocks defense overwhelmed the high-octane Clemson offense only yielding 153 total yards (70 rushing yards, 83 passing yards). Clemson was averaging better than 450 yards of total offense.

→Ellis Johnson’s stop troops held a fourth opponent’s offense to under 200 total yards this season. USC’s defense previously held Vanderbilt, Kentucky & Tennessee to less than 200 yards of offense. South Carolina’s defense held two SEC opponents (Kentucky & Vanderbilt) to less than 100 yards.

→The USC d-line harassed and pressured Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd consistently all night as the Gamecocks sacked Boyd five times and recorded eight tackles-for-loss.

→USC’s outstanding third-down conversion percentage defense (6/17; 35%) against one of the best third-down conversion offensive teams.

→One 20-plus yard play USC’s defense surrendered to Clemson’s offense.

→In the last three South Carolina/Clemson contests (2009, 2010 & 2011), here are three tell-tale stats why the pendulum has swung in the Gamecocks favor:

1. Average Time of Possession
a. USC --- 36:00
b. Clemson --- 24:00
2. Average Rushing Yards
a. USC --- 176 rushing yards/game; (two) 50-plus rushing attempts (2009 & 2011)
b. Clemson --- 59.6 rushing yards/game
3. Total Turnovers
a. USC --- two
b. Clemson --- six
4. Total Offensive Touchdowns
a. USC --- 10 offensive touchdowns
b. Clemson --- 3 offensive touchdowns

The Bad:
→The empty East Upper Deck sections at the cockpit Saturday night. What is up?

The Ugly:
→USC’s special teams once again tried to aid the opponent Saturday night. South Carolina was flagged for interference negating a Clemson fumble, which setup a 61-yard Tigers touchdown drive. Then Gamecocks punter Joey-Scribner Howard mishandled a low snap that Clemson recovered and later converted into a 32-yard field goal to tie the score at 10-10.

→Clemson’s blocked punt in the second quarter was the first surrendered by USC since the 2008 Clemson game, per John Whittle, TheBigSpur.

My next blog will be Thursday afternoon when I give an update on the USC bowl scuttlebutt and the SEC Power Index.

Go Gamecocks!