South Carolina entered Saturday’s rivalry game at Clemson looking to keep the good times going after dropping 63 points on Tennessee last weekend, ending the Vols’ College Football Playoff hopes.

The Gamecocks would have loved nothing better than to also ruin the CFP dreams of the Tigers, but some early miscues proved too much to overcome for Spencer Rattler, Shane Beamer and South Carolina.

Clemson got on the board early when Rattler threw a pick-6 to Jeremiah Trotter Jr., who returned the interception 35 yards:

Rattler threw a second pick in the end zone in the second quarter to end a South Carolina scoring threat.

He did make some nice throws, though, including this one to Juice Wells for a score:

DJ Uiagalelei went toe-to-toe with Rattler, though, making some big plays through the air of his own:

Uiagalelei even showed off his leg, punting for 48 yards at the end of the first half:

The first half wasn’t without some controversy, though, as this apparent backward pass was not ruled a fumble, even upon review:

Clemson took a 23-14 lead into halftime. Neither coach was particularly happy with the effort of his squad.

South Carolina simply refused to go away in the second half. This 72-yard pass from Rattler to Wells cut the Tigers’ lead to 30-28 late in the third quarter:

Clemson defenders started bickering on the sidelines at that point, according to reporter Molly McGrath:

South Carolina eventually took a 31-30 lead on a Mitch Jeter field goal and then the defense took over. The Gamecocks made life miserable all game long for Uiagalelei.

Dabo Swinney refused to go to backup QB Cade Klubnik, leaving DJU in to finish the game 8-for-29 for 99 yards.

Beamer Ball was huge down the stretch, as Pete Lembo’s special-teams units, particularly the punt team, saved the day. Kai Kroeger pinned the Tigers inside the 10-yard line with 2 second-half punts. Then, on another key punt with 2 minutes remaining, the Gamecocks forced a fumble:

South Carolina held on for the 31-30 victory, earning Shane Beamer’s first win over Clemson and snapping a 7-game losing streak to the Tigers.

Next up for the Gamecocks is a bowl game. CFP contenders will be glad not to see the Gamecocks on their schedule moving forward!