Led by All-American defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and an opportunistic defense, the University of South Carolina made history by winning its fifth consecutive game over arch-rival Clemson this weekend.
USC’s previous record for consecutive victories in the 111-year series was four – set from 1951-54.
The 31-17 win over the sixth-ranked Tigers (10-2, 7-1 ACC) also extended South Carolina’s home winning streak to eighteen games – a record run the Gamecocks (10-2, 6-2 SEC) will carry with them into 2014.
(ANALYSIS: After further review, Clemson’s excuses don’t hold up).
South Carolina senior quarterback Connor Shaw finished his career at Williams-Brice Stadium with an unblemished 17-0 home record. Shaw – who missed last year’s game at Clemson with an injury – completed 14 of 26 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Flowery Branch, Georgia native also ran for 94 yards on 22 carries – including a diving three-yard touchdown run that gave the Gamecocks an early 7-0 lead.
After the game, head coach Steve Spurrier declared Shaw “the best quarterback in school history.”
Shaw’s 26-5 record as a starter at USC probably won’t prompt much argument on that count … certainly not from the 84,174 on hand at Williams-Brice Stadium Saturday night.
But while Shaw’s star shone brightly once again, the real story of the game was South Carolina’s much-maligned defense – which held one of the most explosive offenses in all of college football to just 17 points for the second year in a row.
How’d they do it? By forcing four turnovers – including three from Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd, who entered the game looking to make a late statement in the race for the Heisman Trophy.
He made a statement, alright … just not one that’s going to help his chances.
Boyd had a pair of interceptions and a lost fumble – while Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins was picked off on a trick play on the Tigers’ opening drive of the game. South Carolina’s special teams also recovered a muffed punt and forced a fumble on a punt return – giving the Gamecocks a 6-0 total turnover advantage.
That’s the most turnovers by a Clemson team in more than three years.
“That wasn’t part of the script,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said.
Clowney had a big game – recording a sack, two tackles for losses and numerous quarterback pressures. All told, the Gamecock defense sacked Boyd five times.
It was Clowney’s last home game, too, as he’s likely to declare for the 2014 NFL draft (along with fellow defensive lineman Kelcy Quarles and defensive back Victor Hampton).
South Carolina has now recorded double digit victories in three consecutive seasons under Spurrier – something the program accomplished just once over the prior 115 years. After posting a 35-28 mark in his first five seasons in Columbia, Spurrier has gone 41-11 over the last four seasons.
The news wasn’t all good, though, as South Carolina missed out on its chance to play Auburn in the SEC Championship game thanks to Missouri’s win over Texas A&M. Prior to the game, Spurrier said he’d rather lose to Clemson than miss out on a chance to play for the SEC title.
CLEMSON-CAROLINA STATS (.pdf)
95 comments
Dabo was bitch slapped tonight.
I’m sure Dabo will tell us how if they could only play us nine more times how they could win half of them or something.
Ask yourself, “how many times can a team self-destruct during one game?” The “Other Tigers” , Auburn got a win because Alabama did it to themselves. The return on the last play wouldn’t have made the difference. And a bitter-sweet victory for USC because of the Missouri win. Shifty was looking for a USC – Alabama showdown.
Amen Shifty – I’ve said this many times before as a long time Cocks fan, “just wait till next year!”
Our Gamecocks have gone so far in so short a period of time. For now, I’ll be ecstatic if we get in the Sugar Bowl. We can still finish in the top ten. Other than Brother Rogers, have we ever been so close to glory as we are now, thanks to Steve’s recruiting and training and coaching? As for Clemson, it wouldn’t be worth the fight if their fans didn’t argue every little point. That’s what makes the victory doubly sweet.
It’s only unthinkable if you don’t think it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPr-xsQvhgw
CLUCK FLEMSON!!
CLUCK DUMBO SWHINEY TOO!!!!
The ACC is A-LL C-OCKS C-ROWING!!!!!!
See you next year for 6 in a row !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh yea and Gov. Haley can kiss my GameCock A$$!!!!!!
It is a great day in SC!
Now let’s get rid of her too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow. You are a witty one. Where do you come up with these! They are just so sharp and biting, all while leveling the nearest 3rd grader as a response to “your momma”.
Awesome.
I believe my original call was 35-24 Cocks. Then the National Assistant Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association gave Ol’Chad that award. I revised my call to 35-27 Cocks due to the “recognized greatness” of “Heisman Trophy” contender Tajh “fear in his eyes” Boyd and Ol’Chad.
Looks like I should have ignored the hype. at 1130 last night, the AFCA called Ol’Chad and asked for their plaque back and when Tajh’s told the boys from ESPN that he’d see them in New York in December – they just laughed at him.
A well deserved win on the way to another 11-2 season – could have been 12-1 but I’ll take it. Where are all those whiney bitches saying Spurrier’s already had his best season or that Clowney can’t kick serious ass, or that Shaw had no “real talent”.
Could’ve been 10-3 had UCF held onto their lead
Why did Dabo cross the road? So he wouldn’t have to sleep on his mom’s “low shoulder”. Get it?? HarHarHarHar!!!
Tajh Boyd sure plays alot different against a real defense then he does against the average terrible ACC defense.
What about Georgia?
There is the idiot comment I was waiting for. “Georgia” How about FSU or more to the point how about South Carolina? Your best QB in history 0-4 record. combined score of 121-54. 51-98 passing. 564 yards. 2 tds. 5 ints. 51 rushes. 1 yard. 2 tds against our good defense. “Oh but we beat UGA and you didn’t, so…..blah blah.” Own the loss. Hell our Defense has more interceptions from Boyd in the last 4 years than you all American wide out has catches from him. Our Defense kept that “high powered” offense to under 20 again. That’s a real defense dumbass. Take it like a man, and don’t offer up BS excuses. Oh wait you’re a tiger, that’s all you know how to do anymore. Next year wont be any better (or the one after). You lose all those key players and your OC will jump ship to one of the open jobs this time. Dabo will be all alone to get his ass beat by a team that had the fewest seniors of all D-1 football teams. I told “Frank Howard” to wait until they win again to come back and talk trash. If he listens (which I am sure he wont, and give us all a history lesson again since its all he has) it will be a good many more years before he posts here. But again I am sure a pointless reply is coming in 3, 2, 1……
What position do you play?
He plays tight end, he’s got the bruises on his forehead to show it.
Blisters on his rear end from Monday morning coaching!
You mean 8-4 Georgia? If that’s your idea of a “real defense” you need to quit watching ACC Football and start watching the rest of the teams in the SEC play.
Listen folks,
I am a Gamecock Fan and have been since the 1950’s. But use a little intelligence. College Football supposedly is looking for parity and it is very close. On a given day anything can happen and that is good. As for us and them how many of you have made a tackle of touchdown catch? It is a sport and it is exciting!
Parity won’t ever happen – in fact “college football” recognizes that on a macro level by having two championship series. High school ball has multiple divisions for the same reason. Parity is a pipe dream in just about any endeavor related to sports
Dirtpecker, you do realize that Clemson played and beat Georgia when they were at full strength, not after they were all banged up. They beat the same team South Carolina lost to.
Yeah and then Clempson came to town and beat themselves as their quarterback feared getting killed by a real defense.
“wait ’til next year”
Why do tigers lick their own assholes clean six times a day? Seven times might give them bad breath. HarHarHarHar!!!
LOL. That game from early September means jack squat if you are trying to use it to talk smack. Your team was beat down yet again yesterday. And don’t give me that bullshit about you not being a Clemson fan.
Ol’ Redneck, Clemson isn’t “my team”… I’m not even from this trailer park of a state. I just find Clemson fans more tolerable than Dirtpecker fans who’s dream is to win their division of their conference and their battle cry is “wait ’til next year”.
“next year” will be six in a row.
Did Carolina just beat you again? yes? then shut the fuck up idiot, because you are too stupid to know anything worth saying,
If Carolina did beat me, I didn’t notice it. Maybe they should try to hit a little harder next time.
5.
Little Bo Peep,lost her Tigers and don’t know where to find them,leave them alone and they will come home,wagging their tails behind them!
Don’t you mean, “They will come home with their tails between their legs”!
They got their tails (asses) handed to them!
Boyd has a bright future as a professional baker, he sure can serve up some turnovers.
It hurts TBG’s soul to do this, but +1.
Proof that you are a gentleman and a scholar!
Where is CNYSD to remind us that Clemson is (or was) the higher ranked team? Where is Noiff (sp?) and those others that guaranteed a Clemson win back when we were struggling against UK and Clowney was getting eaten alive in the press? Most importantly, where is that jackass “USC fan” that penned that article predicting us to go 7-5 and then had the nerve to remind us of his foresight during the middle of the season, right before our three-game SEC road trip? FITS needs to do a follow-up piece with that great prognosticator.
I’m waiting for those guys to show up.
TBG never ran his mouth, but he at least showed up today.
Denny Knight. Where are you?
https://www.fitsnews.com/2013/10/08/letter-mr-fits-over-hyped-the-gamecocks-is-back/
Outback Bowl here we come!!! Might as well have gone 6-6, we’d be going to the same bowl.
They’ll pay us $5,000,000 to show up and play.
And that in itself should tell you something about college sports.
Tells me that the games sell advertising, not much else.
The Colonel is a lot more fun when he’s spouting off all that Right Wing anti government nonsense ,while cashing his government check of course, than when hes all fired up over football!
The Colonel is likely a PFC.
Pretty – F***king – Cool
I was a PFC once – we though it stood for Private Fricking Citizen.
One of my Dad’s stories—-
A soldier had returned home after WWII and was telling his war stories to his former classmates. One guy said “Wow – that is unbelievable what you went through. Did you get a commission?” “No, I just got my regular pay.”
Too, it’s too, not to.
Actually they pay the SEC that amount, USC just gets their share same as teams like Kentucky and Tennessee.
How big is your share of the 5 mill?
Norma,
I’m a Reserve Officer doing my last ever tour of the desert. My real job is to teach at and recruit for the chicken coop. My share of the $5,000,000 is the publicity that comes with a bowl game and frankly, that’s priceless. Over the last 3-4 years I’m getting calls from kids interested in coming to USC from places we never got calls from before. My recruiting job has been very easy the last few years.
I won’t spend any time working for a kid who is only interested in coming to USC for football games but if he’s a STEM major and he’s interested in a Top Ten team, I’ll be his huckleberry.
So explain how kids like Clowney who can barely read and write get into this fine institution you recruit for? Is this the type of student you look for? Someone who got pushed through high school simply because teachers were told to keep him eligible. No wonder USC’s out-of-state student population rises each year.
The same way you explain Boyd, Watkins and the rest. They meet the minimum standards set by the NCAA, they have tutors and they major in sociology.
Clowney isn’t the dummy you’d like to think he is, very few of them are. I originally started at Georgia with Hershel Walker – he was thought to be “dumb” because of a speech impediment. He was actually pretty sharp. One of my running buddies was George Roger’s tutor for two years at Carolina – she said he was dumber than a stump. Having spent some time with him I’d agree, nice but about as sharp as a marble – except where it came to football.
Last Time I looked, Garcia graduated with a 3.5, I seem to recall that Shaw’s GPA is higher. The football team’s overall GPA is around 2.7 http://www.gamecocksonline.com/blog/2012/12/classroom-and-on-field-success-are-one-goal-for-football-program.html- not great, but respectable considering the time they spend away from campus.
Remember the “student athlete” C J Spliiler? I believe he was a mechanical engineering major at Clemson. Right?
Spiller’s Wonderlic score was one of the lowest ever recorded. It indicated he was functionally illiterate. And he actually graduated and RECEIVED A DEGREE from Clemson. Congratulations, my man!
Recruit for the chicken coop..interesting. Y’all need to recruit people to go there? Clemson turns folks away every year.
Norma, Norma, Norma – Cleson doesn’t recruit? Then how do you explain that big ugly orange table that seems to show up at the events I go to. You obviously know absolutely nothing about how universities get top tier students. Lets look at real numbers from last year
For Clempson:
Total applicants – 18,500
Admitted – 10,706
Enrolled – 3,463
For Carolina:
Total applicants – 23,429
Admitted – 14,199
Enrolled – 4,625
Carolina had 5,000 more applicants for just over 1,000 seats. Carolina turned away 1,000 more students than Clempson did. Clempson isn’t now and in fact never has been any more “elite” than Carolina.
Since you have access to this type of info…what is the Clemson freshman starting class average SAT score and class rank? And USC’s?
Clempson – 1246 (math verbal only)
____USC – 1196 (math verbal only)
Difference = 50 points
25 points difference on a 800 point scale not a real significant difference. (Neither school really pays any attention to the writing portion of the SAT)
Both have an average GPA north of 3.7.
USC is not the “party school” that many perceived it to be in the 1980s and it really never was.
While the information I provided is in no way confidential, neither school publishes an official selection score. You also need to know that a 3.7 and a 1,300 math/verbal SAT doesn’t necessarily guarantee you admission to either school. Both apply other factors including demographic selection to the process.
Really? Most of the folks I knew who went there in the 80’s, partied like partying was going to end and they had to get theirs in before it ran out.
I graduated in 87 (4 years late) – we had partiers as well but the roots of all the successful programs we have now can be found in the early 80s.
The Marine Science program was already number 7 nationally when I enrolled. The business school was already good and the MIBS program was already viewed as one of the best, Moore’s gift in 98 took that program to a whole new level both grad and undergrad have led the list for 20 years. The Honors College, formed in 1978 came into its own during the ’80s and ’90s. Our neophyte engineering program of the ’60s and ’70s now boasts 3 of 5 disciplines in the top 50 nationally the Electrical Doctoral program is ranked as number 7 nationally (yes, ahead of Clemson).
Do we still have partiers – absolutely? Do we still have more than our fair share of criminal justice majors – certainly, only now the CJ program ranks as number 25 nationally. Kiplingers says overall USC is the number 35 program among large universities in the Best Value list (Clemson is 34) (something like 2,500 schools in the category).
Wah-Wah-Wah: You can’t make fun of the Tigers b/c I am not a Tigers fan. I know more about the Gamecocks than most Gamecock fans, but I am not a Tigers fan.
Wah-Wah-Wah: I don’t root for Clemson so you can’t say anything to me. I am just obsessed with the Gamecocks. If you bring up the fact Clemson lost, I will show you how I am digusting human being and bring up a former Gamecock player’s suicide. But I’m not a Clemson fan.
Bring up the Outback Bowl, that’s fine, Tater Boy. Your team lost…again. Deal with it. Pussy123 is a better handle for you.
Nope I’m Squishy123, have been since that Dirtpecker fan got his head run over by his drunk boyfriend.
Or the Carquest Bowl. Doesn’t matter, thats a a guaranteed win for us.
Way to steal my name tag asswipe. Squishy you truly are a pussy.
What the fuck are you talking about?
we all know you wrote the post two comments ago about the Carquest Bowl under “my” name acting like it wasn’t you. We are not as dumb as you ma’am, and wont fall for that crap.
–The real You little pussy I mean Tiger.
Shit, you’ll be lucky to get the Carquest Bowl… I’m thinking it’s Outback Bowl… the same bowl you go to if you’re 6-6.
Believe what you want, dirt peckers aren’t exactly known for their intelligence.
Clemson College was started thirty years after the Civil War to educate the farmers of SC . It continues to serve that valuable purpose. I’m lost on your bowl comments. I thought it was now all about academics at Clemson. Why do you find it the least interesting to read all these inane posts, since football doesn’t matter to those “scholarly” Tigers?
*Crickets chirping*
Excactly. Where’s CNYSD? Have to read his pithy, non-sensical crap all year and once again he disappears after another Gamecock beat down. At least Grand Tango/Big T showed up on election night to take his medicine. These Clemson sissies can’t take it.
So, for all your USCeast, Carls Jr., and other stupidass garbage you post…CYNSD, the entire Gamecock Nation says hi.
Turnovers were the difference in this game.
Having said that, TBG believes we were outcoached again…
Despite his protestations to the contrary, Spurrier puts more preparation into this game than any other.
Congratulations and see ya next year in the Valley…sans Clowney, Shaw, and *Boyd*.
I love Dirtpecker fans who’s whole lives revolve around their football team as if it really matters.
We idiots like you who claim they don’t pull for either team, or live in the state, with nothing better to do in their own lives than post on this site when again as they say “they don’t care”. Closet Tater. I know its embarrassing being one, but at least have the balls to stand up and admit it man.
****SORRY “We LIKE idiots like you” Damn f-ed up my on rag on you joke. Oh well, the point is still there. That would be you suck!
What is a “tater”?
I never got that. I guess its supposed to be derogatory?
Hey, here is another Closet Tater that claimed once they don’t care, or live in this state, but always comes to post like Tiger. Its actually the same person as squishy he just changing the handle for the name to seem like someone else. So now you are commenting (and sometimes liking) on your own posts? How pathetic. But you don’t really care do you? People like you have to make up friends on blog sites. Thanks for the laugh man.
You appear to be directing that to me, as you replied to me. I never said i don’t live in SC; And i graduated from Clemson. You appears to be quite confused..and stupid.
In SC if you aren’t a Dirtpecker, you’re a Tater.
Props to TBG for showing up in the thread.
And now the “superior”,” # 6 heroes of the ACC” have fallen to # 13 as their “Heisman Trophy candidate” QB fumbles, stumbles and throws interceptions on his way into the history books as the only Clempson QB to have been beaten by the Gamecocks four years in a row.
Meanwhile, back in the chicken coop, the number 10 Cocks climbed to number 8 under the steady hand of a quarterback that beat them every time he stepped on the field and a defensive end who may have a part of a record for the most sacks of a single quarterback in a series.
Clowney for Heisman, right?
I hear he’s coming back next semester to continue his studies. I wonder how close he is to graduating, I hear he’s pretty close to having that coloring book completed.
Did you ever get your’s finished?
“your’s”… really?
And yes, I was able to finish my coloring book by the time I reached Kindergarten. Word has it Clowney might be able to read at the 3rd grade level. It’s amazing how he got through high school and accepted into a university system. Maybe they should change his nickname from “Doo Doo” to “Mongo”.
Wow! You really socked it to us on that one!! Clever boy, clever boy. Hey, ever heard that half-wit Sammy Watkins interviewed? Isn’t he running the Architecture Dept. up there now? Oh wait, I forgot, Clemson College was founded specifically to de-emphasize the liberal arts and teach you rubber heads to plow in a straight line. Deny that!!!!!!
^^^Has a liberal arts degree.
Figures.
Contour Plowing 101 is a thrilling class. Ain’t it?
Maybe last year but not this one – he didn’t live up to the hype.
Poor poor bitter kitties. I bet they all think that if they play this game five times…..they will, wait, no…they would lose all five.
If the real Carolina is in Chapel Hill, the real USC is in California and the real university of South Carolina is in Clempson….what does Dorkbo call the team he can’t beat?
I got an uncle named Dooboo too!. He coached me up in little league.
Where’s the clemson fans? I want to laugh.