Clemson vs. South Carolina Prediction: Tigers need to stay the course

Clemson takes on South Carolina at 7:30 pm.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat Nov 27 08:00:06 GMT-04:00 2021

The long-awaited rivalry day is finally here. Clemson travels to Columbia to take on South Carolina, the first time in two years the teams have faced off after the SEC’s COVID restrictions canceled last year’s game in Death Valley. And, for the first time in a long time, you get the feeling South Carolina has a chance.

It’s a game two years in the making. It’s the last game of the regular season. Let’s get this thing going.

RV/RV CLEMSON (8-3, 6-2 ACC) at SOUTH CAROLINA (6-5, 3-5 SEC)

WHEN: SATURDAY, NOV. 27, 7:30 P.M. ET
WHERE: WILLIAMS-BRICE STADIUM, COLUMBIA, S.C.
TELEVISION: SEC Network (Taylor Zarzour, Matt Stinchcomb, Alyssa Lang)
RADIO: Clemson Athletic Network (Don Munson, Tim Bourret, Reggie Merriweather)
SATELLITE RADIO: XM 383, Internet/ App 973

CLEMSON/SOUTH CAROLINA SERIES HISTORY

OVERALL: Clemson leads series, 71-42-4
HOME: Clemson leads series, 19-10-1
ROAD: Clemson leads series, 52-32-3
NEUTRAL: N/A
LAST MEETING: Nov. 30, 2019 (38-3, W)
STREAK: Clemson, Won 6

NOTABLE

*The game's removal from last year's schedule delayed an opportunity that now awaits Clemson's 2021 squad. Clemson has won each of the series' last six games, including wins in Columbia in 2015, 2017 and 2019. A Clemson win on Saturday would give the Tigers seven straight wins against the Gamecocks and would tie the 1934-40 Tigers for the longest winning streak by either team in series history. A win would also make Dabo Swinney the first coach on either side to win seven straight games in the series.

*By virtue of the 2020 interruption, Clemson, whose last game against South Carolina in 2019 was in Columbia, playing consecutive games at South Carolina in the series for the first time since 1959. Clemson played the first 57 games in the 117-game series on the road on “Big Thursday” during the annual State Fair until the series transitioned to the home-and-home format in 1960.

*Clemson is attempting to improve to 72-42-4 all-time against South Carolina. Clemson’s 71 all-time wins against South Carolina are the program’s most against any opponent.

*Clemson having held the lead in its all-time series with South Carolina for 44,935 consecutive days (123 years and 10 days) at the time of kickoff on Saturday. South Carolina won the series opener in 1896 before Clemson evened the series in 1897. Clemson won the third game in the series on Nov. 17, 1898 to take a 2-1 series lead that Clemson hasn’t relinquished.

*Clemson is attempting to earn a fourth straight road win against South Carolina for the first time since defeating the Gamecocks on the road six straight times across the 1989-99 seasons.

*Clemson enters the contest having won its last four games in the series against South Carolina by at least 21 points (49 points in 2016, 24 points in 2017, 21 points in 2018 and 35 points in 2019). Clemson’s four consecutive wins of 21-plus points mark the longest streak of 21-point victories in the series by either team.

*Swinney is attempting to improve to 8-5 all-time against South Carolina. He would be the first Clemson coach with seven straight wins against South Carolina, surpassing the six straight wins secured by Jess Neely from 1934-39. Swinney is also attempting to join Frank Howard (13) as the only Clemson coaches to defeat South Carolina eight times.

WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN FOR CLEMSON TO WIN

*Limit the turnovers. South Carolina has forced 23 turnovers this season but has given up the ball 22 times. Clemson has forced 17 turnovers but has surrendered the ball 17 times. Neither team has much of an advantage, but with South Carolina playing at home, the Tigers can’t afford to turn it over and give the Gamecocks hope.

*A repeat of last week’s gameplan. Last week’s offensive explosion was something the fans have been waiting to see all season. There were runs inside and sweeps outside, slants, throws down the seam, and the offensive line allowed the running backs to take over the game. South Carolina is decent in run defense – at least that’s what we’ve heard – but in reality the Gamecocks are 95th nationally against the run, allowing 4.5 yards per carry and almost 171 yards per game on the ground. That same gameplan from last week – especially with the outside runs, allowing Kobe Pace and Will Shipley to operate in space – would be the way I would go.

*Turn the dogs loose on the South Carolina offense. Let’s face it, the Gamecocks are just ok on defense but they are woeful on the offensive side of the ball, ranking 111th nationally. Brent Venables will turn the dogs – James Skalski, Trenton Simpson, Tyler Davis, Myles Murphy, Xavier Thomas – loose on quarterback Jason Brown and the Gamecocks. There isn’t a lot of mystery to their offense – run the ball, and then because the offensive line struggles so much, they get the quarterback out of the pocket and hit Josh Vann or one of their other receivers on drag or crossing routes. Venables needs to turn up the pressure early and often.

*Stay the course. I don’t mean to downplay the Gamecocks. This team is dangerous at home, and they’ve beaten Florida and Auburn in recent weeks in the friendly, battery-throwing, water bottle-tossing confines of Williams-Brice. But their strength of schedule is weak because the SEC East is not very good, the offense struggles to move the ball consistently, and the defense will get gashed and gassed at times. Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said head coach Dabo Swinney challenged the coaches to coach their best against Wake Forest because, if you look at the recruiting rankings, it shouldn’t be a contest. That’s the way this one feels. Emotion and momentum will keep the Gamecocks in this game. Stay the course, stay in the gameplan, and let the talent take over.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN

The Tigers will have to survive the early emotions that will be swirling around the stadium. After not playing for two years, everyone will be sky-high. Once the initial blows are exchanged, the Tigers will settle in and start to take over. The Gamecocks will hit a play here and there to keep them in it, and there will be a play by the Clemson offense (a bad one) that will have the fans screaming. Clemson will pull away in the second half, and I think it will be an exciting yet comfortable win.

FINAL SCORE: CLEMSON 34, SOUTH CAROLINA 17

More TigerNet picks

Mickey Plyler - The Roar 105.5 morning show host - 30-16 Clemson
Nikki Hood - Staff writer - 28-10 Clemson
Brandon Rink - Associate editor - 27-17 Clemson
Tony Crumpton - Associate editor - 24-13 Clemson
Zachary Wagner - Intern - 35-21 Clemson
Jake Pierce - Recruiting reporter - Clemson 27-17
Pigskin Prophet - 34-16 Clemson
Ryan Kantor - Contributing Writer - Clemson 31-17

PREDICTION TRACKER

Game	Actual	David Hood	Plyler	Nikki Hood	Rink	Crumpton	Wagner	Pierce	Prophet	Kantor
Georgia	10-3 UGA	27-20 CU	27-23 CU	24-17 CU	27-23 CU	28-24 CU	28-17 CU	31-20 CU	23-17 CU	-
SC State	49-3 CU	55-3 CU	54-0 CU	56-7 CU	61-7 CU	49-7 CU	55-10 CU	45-0 CU	45-0 CU	-
GT	14-8 CU	41-13 CU	51-10 CU	45-10 CU	45-13 CU	38-7 CU	45-7 CU	38-13 CU	48-10 CU	31-3 CU
NCST	27-21 2OT NCST	23-20 CU	27-13 CU	17-7 CU	24-17 CU	24-9 CU	24-3 CU	28-17 CU	24-16 CU	24-6 CU
BC	19-13 CU	24-20 CU	24-13 CU	24-13 CU	27-17 CU	24-9 CU	24-21 CU	24-20 CU	23-16 CU	23-21 BC
Syracuse	17-14 CU	31-20 CU	31-17 CU	38-14 CU	26-16 CU	27-13 CU	24-13 CU	27-13 CU	30-17 CU	23-13 CU
Pittsburgh	27-17 Pitt	27-23 Pitt	23-21 CU	24-17 Pitt	24-23 Pitt	21-20 Pitt	24-21 CU	31-27 CU	24-23 CU	21-19 Pitt
FSU	30-20 CU	20-13 CU	27-14 CU	28-10 CU	24-17 CU	28-13 CU	27-10 CU	23-14 CU	27-16 CU	24-14 CU
LOU	30-24 CU	27-20 CU	23-16 CU	23-20 CU	21-16 CU	24-17 CU	27-10 CU	23-17 CU	27-16 CU	24-21 CU
UConn	44-7 CU	47-6 CU	49-6 CU	40-3 CU	48-10 CU	45-6 CU	42-7 CU	38-3 CU	41-0 CU	49-3 CU
Wake	48-27 CU	27-23 CU	30-27 CU	27-20 CU	26-23 CU	27-20 CU	35-31 CU	27-24 CU	30-23 CU	34-31 Wake
Points	-	11	10	13	9	13	10	8	10	10

* Points: 3 pts for best correct prediction of the week (tiebreaker is Clemson score), 2 pts for picking score exactly, 1 pt for picking the correct winner