Clemson vs. South Carolina: 5 Things We Learned from Gamecocks Win vs. Tigers

The South Carolina Gamecocks have been a fairly surprising team this year, so I guess it's fitting that the last game would have as many surprises as the whole season did.

Spurrier must be putting something in the Gatorade down in Columbia, SC, because these guys showed up to play. Rivalry games bring out the best in teams, and SC proved that their best is more than enough to take down the Clemson Tigers.

Here are five things we learned from the game.

Alshon Jeffery Is Dangerous with or Without the Ball

While there were many instances in the game where this was true, the finest example was with about 10 minutes left in the game.

Jeffery was lined up, and Clemson bit on him. They assumed that Shaw would give him the ball because at the end of the game, you put the ball in the hands of your playmakers and let them make plays.

Nope, Shaw completed a pass to the now-open Bruce Ellington for 17 yards for the first down.

Alshon Jeffery is almost unfairly good. He is an outstanding WR and will see action at the next level of this sport. All of us knew he was good, but he's lethal on the field in general, not just with the ball.

Heck, he only got two receptions the entire game. Clemson covered him and Ellington made them pay.

South Carolina Has Balance

Coaches, analysts and fans all know and preach the theory of a balanced offense. You run the ball to open up the passing game. You pass the ball to open up the running game. If you do that correctly, the defense stays on their heels and can't predict what's coming next, so the middle of the field is wide open.

South Carolina hit Clemson for 210 yards on the ground. Balance says that they should be somewhere around 150-plus through the air. South Carolina did better than that. They hit Clemson through the air for 210 yards.

That's a perfect 50/50 split.

It doesn't get more balanced than that.

Connor Shaw Is a Quarterback

We knew before the game that Connor Shaw plays the position of a quarterback. What I mean here is that Shaw went 14-for-20 for 210 yards, three TDs and no interceptions. He had a QB rating of 207.7 in this game.

Completing 70 percent of your passes for 10.5 yards per attempt is Heisman material if he can keep that up through next season.

And he's not picky, either. He hit seven different receivers in this game. He doesn't care who is open, he just slings the ball at them. And he hits them.

As for this year, he's 98-for-151 for 1008 yards, nine TDs and six interceptions.

When he learns to read defenses and sees the field better, he will lock down those interceptions and become a huge threat when Marcus Lattimore returns to the field.

Next year could be a very special year for the Gamecocks.

South Carolina Has an SEC Defense

We all thought that South Carolina had talent on defense, but this is a real defense. They played well and didn't make many mistakes.

South Carolina forced Clemson to punt on six of their 11 drives. They picked Tajh Boyd for another turnover and forced a turnover on downs with 2:54 to play. So, out of 11 drives, South Carolina got the ball back eight times with nothing put up on the scoreboard.

That's the stat that matters most: scoring defense. If the other team can't score, they can't win.

This caliber defense needs to show up next year. Georgia may not be the best in the East if they do.

South Carolina Is Not Predictable; We Should Stop Trying

We all thought South Carolina would take down Auburn earlier in the season, and it didn't happen.

We assumed back then that meant South Carolina wouldn't be anywhere near a 10-2 record.

We assumed that Clemson, who was shining brightly before the Georgia Tech loss, would show up and make South Carolina sorry for stepping out onto the field Saturday.

That didn't happen, either.

In any other year, 10-2 is likely to make you the SEC Eastern Division representative at the SEC Championship game.

Next year, people are looking for this Georgia to run the Eastern table.

I think South Carolina will surprise us again.