Rapid Reaction: South Carolina finishes season in disappointing fashion with Palmetto Bowl loss
By Ethan Stone
Published:
South Carolina, despite all its struggles on the afternoon, still had a chance with just under 4 minutes remaining against Clemson. After forcing a stop and trailing by just 6 points, the Gamecocks needed to drive the field — 95 yards — with all 3 timeouts remaining with a chance at a potential game-winning touchdown.
Instead of taking advantage of the opportunity in front of them, the Gamecocks immediately turned the ball over and watched as Clemson took a pick-six to the house. A few minutes later, Nyck Harbor turned the ball over again. It was South Carolina’s 5th turnover of the afternoon.
Game over.
That sequence is a microcosm for South Carolina’s 2025 season, which came to an end Saturday afternoon at the hands of the Clemson Tigers, 28-14. The Gamecocks had plenty of talent and opportunity, but the Gamecocks could never get out of their own way. With that, Shane Beamer’s squad finished its season 4-8 in front of thousands of fans at Williams-Brice Stadium.
South Carolina’s 5 turnovers ultimately decided the game, but so did the Gamecocks’ absolutely brutal play on 3rd down. LaNorris Sellers and the South Carolina offense converted just one 3rd down the entire afternoon, finishing 1-11 and 1-3 on 4th down. Both of South Carolina’s 3rd and 4th down conversions came on the final drive of the game, when Clemson already had the win in hand.
The Tigers, on the other hand, finished 7-17 on 3rd down. As you could probably guess with the 5 turnovers, Clemson dominated the time of possession at 38:44 minutes.
With this win, Clemson has extended its lead to 74-44-1 in the all-time series and prevented South Carolina from registering its first winning streak in the series since Steve Spurrier beat Clemson 5 times in a row from 2009-2013. Dabo Swinney improved to 10-7 against the Gamecocks with Saturday’s win.
South Carolina 14, Clemson 28
Here’s the South Carolina-Clemson box score (use the dropdown menu to select team or player stats), followed by the complete play-by-play:
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
