South Carolina-Clemson: Game Analysis and Prediction

There are so many interesting subplots surrounding this year’s rivalry game between the Gamecocks and Tigers.

For both teams, much is at stake, namely recruiting, momentum, and bowl games.

When Tommy Bowden was fired and the Tigers were imploding, recruits jumped ship—and a handful (gasp!) went to South Carolina.

Since then, Carolina has locked up 22 commits, while Clemson sits at only eight, and is basically treading water until a head coach is named.    

A win for the Gamecocks would 1.) pull Spurrier’s record to 2-2 against Clemson, 2.) effectively end Clemson’s season, as they would be knocked out of bowl contention, 3.) cloud Clemson’s coaching situation even more, 4.) all but lock up a New Year’s Day bowl game in Tampa.

All of that adds up to a 180 from last year—and this time Clemson would be playing catch up on the recruiting trail while South Carolina would be touting all of the above to recruits. 

All that aside, however, we still have a game to play.  Here is a quick look at the game’s keys: 
 

Recent games

Clemson comes in riding a two-game winning streak—a 31-7 win over Duke and a low-scoring 13-3 win over Virginia, courtesy mainly of four Cavalier turnovers.

Meanwhile, after finally clawing back into the top 25, South Carolina is licking its wounds after an embarrassing 56-6 loss to the Gators on CBS two weeks ago. 


Clemson’s offense vs. South Carolina’s defense

While statistics clearly do not tell the whole story of a team (as the Florida-Carolina game showed), there are some stats that are simply too hard to ignore. 

For example, Clemson has given up 24 sacks on the year while Carolina has gotten to opposing quarterbacks a solid 26 times, led by Eric Norwood’s SEC-leading seven. 

Because of the pressure he has faced, Cullen Harper has only 10 touchdowns to 12 interceptions.  Meanwhile, the Carolina secondary has suddenly become a group of ball hawkers, picking off five passes in their last four games.

Unless Clemson can work some magic and recreate its offensive line before Saturday, Harper might find himself on his back or chasing one of Carolina’s defensive backs.   

Clemson’s running game always has the potential to explode, but through 11 games, Spiller, Davis, and Co. are only getting 115 yards per game.

Simply put, it’s tough to find an area where Clemson has the advantage on paper.  The Tigers are terrible on 3rd down, only converting 29% of the time, and are highly penalized—two factors that do not help against one of the nation’s toughest defenses. 


South Carolina’s offense vs. Clemson’s defense

The Head Ball Coach has proclaimed the quarterback rotation experiment over—and says Chris Smelley will be given the chance to go the distance. 

Smelley has shown the ability to pick apart defenses if he has time.  By the same token, he has also made some terrible decisions and horribly inaccurate throws. 

Based on Clemson’s defense this year, though, it appears Smelley will have the time to do as he pl

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