Another year, another victory against rival South Carolina. No. 3 Clemson (12-0, 8-0 ACC) put the finishing touches on their undefeated regular season by making short work of rival South Carolina (4-8, 3-5 SEC) on Saturday afternoon. Clemson sophomore quarterback Trevor Lawrence passed for three touchdowns and 295 yards before getting an early rest in the second half.
Lawrence was also a factor in Clemson’s running game. The mobile threat picked up a team-high 66 yards and averaged 8.3 yards per rushing attempt against South Carolina. Clemson also fed the football to their top running back,. Travis Etienne. Etienne scored twice on the ground but was limited to a modest 51 yards on 15 carries. Clemson’s defense was also in top form, limiting South Carolina to just 174 yards of total offense (while Clemson racked up over 500 yards of offense).
The win by Clemson was the sixth in a row by the Tigers over South Carolina. It is the second-longest winning streak by Clemson in the history of the rivalry. Clemson won seven consecutive meetings from 1934 through 1940.
Clemson’s next game will be the ACC Championship Game against Virginia next weekend in Charlotte, NC. Virginia clinched its spot opposing the defending ACC and national champions with a win against Virginia Tech on Friday. Clemson will be a huge favorite in the game as they go for their fifth straight ACC title and with it a fifth striaght appearance in the College Football Playoff. Virginia will be making its first appearance in the ACC Championship Game and will look to play spoiler before the College Football Playoff field is determined.
South Carolina’s future may now be a bit cloudier. A woeful season with just four wins to show for it will mean head coach Will Muschamp will be faced with some tough questions. Although Muschamp has already received the public backing of the athletics director with a commitment to have Muschamp back on the sidelines in 2020, that won’t silence some of the fan response as South Carolina continues to see the distance between the Gamecocks and the top of the SEC East (and Clemson) continue to widen.
