Game Review: Clemson vs. South Carolina
Clemson destroyed their at-large Playoff spot losing their second home game of the year to rival South Carolina 17-14. The Tigers did not trail until there was 1:08 left on the clock. South Carolina took a 3 point led on yet another LaNorris Sellers scramble that made Clemson’s Defense look silly all game long. Sellers finished the day with only 164 passing yards and 1 interception, but his damage was done on the ground as he rushed for 166 yards and 2 TDs on 16 carries (ESPN). Outside of Sellers, the Gamecocks did not have many threats on Offense that challenged the Tiger Defense; however, many missed opportunities led to Clemson’s downfall within their house. Offensively, the Tigers could not get out of them own way ending many drives on simple mistakes. Despite this, Quarterback Cade Klubnik put Clemson in a position to win throwing for 280 yards while rushing for 60 and 2 TDs, but a late interception in field goal range off a dropped pass end the contest (ESPN). Clemson was gifted another opportunity with a Miami loss, but the Tigers need a quick turnaround to beat SMU in the ACC Championship Game.
Key Tiger Takeaways:
Missed Opportunities: Throughout this entire game, Clemson was killed by missed opportunities. The Tiger Defense may have given up 267 rushing yards, but a “bend but don’t break” mentality led to 3 forced turnovers and a forced field goal. These 3 turnovers changed the momentum, but poor Offensive possessions off these turnovers led to zero points created from these created turnovers. Clemson was gifted the turnover margin against the Gamecocks, but a lack of taking advantage of the moment allowed South Carolina to stay in the game. The Tigers were also gifted terrific field position after a failed onside kick with around 6 minutes left in the game; however, another series of poor play calling resulted in the Tigers punting the ball back to South Carolina after just a 1:30 was taken off the clock (ESPN). Clemson lost because of too many missed opportunities. If the Tigers just took advantage of a couple of the opportunities given to them, then we would all have a different feeling at this point. Clemson has to take advantage of chances going forward, especially in the ACC Championship Game.
Top End Quarterbacks: The Palmetto Bowl Rivalry showcased two top end Quarterbacks this past game. As mentioned above, LaNorris Sellers torched the Tiger Defense with his legs and break tackle ability running for over 160 yards. Sellers still has ways to go as a passer, but his improvement as a starting Quarterback in his RS/Freshman season has been nothing short of stellar. Sellers will be a problem for the SEC and Clemson moving forward for most likely two more seasons. While on Clemson’s side of the ball, Cade Klubnik also stepped up the challenge today. Many fans will not say that Klubnik performed well, but like it or not, Klubnik has been putting on Heisman performances since Georgia and that did not change today. The Junior was making plays all over the field and did not make more than a couple of bad reads. Klubnik missed on just a couple of throws today, and poor play calling resulted in the lost today for him. Cade Klubnik and LaNorris Sellers will take the College Football world by storm next season, and I would not be shocked to see them both within the 2025 Heisman race.
Matt Luke: All week prior to this match-up, all the “experts” were predicting South Carolina’s Defensive Line to dominate the Clemson Offensive Line, but that was no where near the case. Clemson returned two previously injured starters for this contest and that led to allowing just one sack on Quarterback Cade Klubnik. The hurt Tiger front let up 9 sacks against their last two FBS opponents, but they took all the talk personal against the Gamecocks. OL Coach Matt Luke has continued to pay dividends for the production of this Offense because of the improvement across the OL. It is unfortunate that the Tigers wasted their improved front with two home losses, but going forward Matt Luke can be a valuable asset to returning Clemson back to the Best Standard.
Questionable Coaching: While I have mentioned the poor play calling throughout this article, the most questionable coaching I saw today was the lack of snaps that LB Sammy Brown received the in the second half. Clemson played a 3 Linebacker set for the majority of the first half limiting South Carolina to just 7 points, but during the second half the sights of these sets became an anomaly. For some reason, Clemson resorted back to the Nickel formation with just 2 Linebackers allowing Sellers to run all over the Tigers creating 10 fourth quarter points. Clemson has shown their ability to stop the run with 3 Linebackers, so it makes no sense to avoid those sets in the second half unless it was an obvious passing situation for the Gamecocks. DC Wes Goodwin was not the reason the Tigers lost this game, but a lack of Sammy Brown, the leading tackler at halftime, in the second half was one of the most questionable coaching decisions during the game and the year.
Hope: While everything feels lost for the Tigers currently, it is all not lost yet. Clemson clinched an ACC Championship Game appearance with a Miami loss, and with a win the Tigers are presumably in the Playoffs as the fifth highest rated conference champion. The Tigers will face the SMU Mustangs with their season on the line for the second straight week. Clemson has a short pulse because of this loss, but the Tigers are not dead yet. Dabo and Co. are looking to regain the faith of the fanbase with a potential ACC Championship and a Playoff appearance, but will Tiger Fandom forgive two straight home losses to South Carolina?
Sources:
ESPN. “ESPN.” ESPN.com, 2019, www.espn.com/.
“Clemson Tigers | Clemson University Athletics.” Clemson Tigers Official Athletics Site, clemsontigers.com.