3 takeaways from South Carolina’s come-from-behind rivalry win against Clemson
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South Carolina didn’t clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Clemson wasn’t mathematically eliminated.
Those decisions are out of both teams’s hands.
The 15th-ranked Gamecocks’ chances, however, improved exponentially with their come-from-behind 17-14 victory at Death Valley on Saturday.
More importantly, South Carolina regained control of the Palmetto Cup by beating its in-state rivalry on the Tigers’ home field for the second time in 3 years.
LaNorris Sellers capped a monster individual performance by running for a 20-yard touchdown with just over a minute remaining and Demetrius Knight sealed the deal with an interception to extend the Gamecocks’ winning streak to 6 straight. Coach Shane Beamer’s team will now have to wait to see how far the win helps move them up in the Playoff rankings when they’re announced on Tuesday.
No. 12 Clemson, meanwhile, will have to hope that Syracuse beats Miami on Saturday for a shot at the ACC championship. That’s the only way the Tigers can now get into the 12-team bracket.
Here are 3 takeaways from the Gamecocks’ dramatic victory:
A Sellers market
Sellers has been the Gamecocks’ most influential player all season. But he outdid himself in the biggest game of his career on Saturday.
With his team trailing its rival with time running out, the redshirt freshman drove South Carolina 75 yards on 9 plays in 4:01, finishing the drive off with an electric go-ahead touchdown run with 1:08 remaining. It was one of 8 plays of 20 yards or more in the game for Sellers.
The Gamecock quarterback finished with 164 passing and 166 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground. In doing so, he became the first FBS player this season to throw and run for 150 more yards in a game.
“That kid’s the best player in the country,” Beamer beamed in a postgame interview on the field. “One of our players told me after the touchdown run that this guy has something special inside him. And he does.”
Beamer’s gamble pays off
After kicking a field goal to cut Clemson’s lead to 14-10 with 6:54 remaining, South Carolina’s Shane Beamer decided to roll the dice and surprise his rival with an on-side kick. It didn’t work, as Jamal Anderson recovered for the Tigers.
But despite giving up the ball around midfield, the Gamecocks defense limited the damage by recording a quick 3-and-out with only 1:21 coming off the clock.
Sellers then took over, hitting Sanders on a 17-yard screen pass to get the drive started. The redshirt freshman used his legs for a 27-yard run to get his team to the Clemson 14. Following a pass into the end zone that was nearly caught by Dalevon Campbell and a false start that created a third-and-16 situation, Sellers took matters into his own hands again by scrambling out of trouble and snaking his way 20 yards into the end zone for South Carolina’s first lead of the day.
Back to the Barnes
Clemson safety Khalil Barnes was a difference-maker in last year’s win against the Gamecocks. His scoop-and-score was the Tigers’ only touchdown in a 16-7 win in Columbia. Saturday, he made his presence felt again.
With South Carolina driving for a potential tying touchdown early in the fourth quarter, Barnes broke just right on a pass from Sellers and picked it off at the 10-yard line to end the threat.
It was Clemson’s third takeaway of the day and second in the red zone. TJ Parker recorded a strip sack of Sellers and recovered the loose ball on the game’s opening possession. It was Parker’s 10th sack of the season, making him the first Tiger to reach double figures since Clelin Ferrell in 2018.
Avieon Terrell had the other takeaway when he recovered a third-quarter fumble by Rocket Sanders.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
