Five plays that led to South Carolina football's dramatic win over Clemson

Clemson fans were about as energized as can be for most of Saturday’s game versus South Carolina. But by game’s end, they all sat in their seats, hands on their heads and shocked as could be.

After every game, win or lose, they storm the field to “gather at the paw” with the team at midfield. Only this time, it was a giant sea of garnet and black covering up the orange tiger paw, as the No. 15 Gamecocks upset No. 12 Clemson 17-14 at Memorial Stadium.

With the win, South Carolina will finish the regular season at 9-3 (5-3 SEC) overall. The Gamecocks have now won six consecutive games and await to learn of their postseason fate in the coming days.

Let’s look at five plays that helped South Carolina earn its ninth win to close out the regular season in dramatic fashion.

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Making Clemson pay the price

Still scoreless near the end of the first quarter, Clemson was in the process of driving down the field after starting at the four-yard line. The Tigers were quick to move into the red zone and looked to be on the verge of breaking the ice with the first score of the game.

With a critical 4th and 1 from South Carolina’s 11-yard line coming up, the Tigers could’ve easily settled for a chip shot field goal. But Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney decided to go for it.

“We thought we’d get it,” Swinney said. “If I kicked the field goal, then you’re probably saying, ‘Why didn’t you go for it in fourth-and-inches?’ But we just made a decision in the moment that we believed in, and it didn’t work. They made the stop.”

With an offensive lineman and tight end lined up in the backfield in front of running back Phil Mafah, Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik handed off to Mafah. But even with extra protection, it didn’t make much of a difference. South Carolina blew the play up and tackled Mafah before he could reach the first down marker for a turnover on downs.

And in a game that the Gamecocks won by three points, this is one play Swinney might like to have back.

“They made a good play, and it was a huge missed opportunity right there,” he said. “That’s one of them. When it comes down to two plays, those are things that you look back on and, just, man, it’s frustrating. So, that was a huge play for them.”

Clemson’s first real blunder of the game

Trying to get cute was one of the key reasons why Clemson lost in the Palmetto Bowl two years ago. And just like that memorable 31-30 win for the Gamecocks back then, trick plays blew up in the Tigers’ face once again.

With a seven-point lead in the third quarter, Clemson was back in plus territory with a chance to potentially put the game out of reach. But on 1st and 10 at the 32, the Tigers turned the ball over on a call that was overturned to a fumble recovered by South Carolina after review.

Now, you can argue this shouldn’t be deemed as a trick play, but the intention was there. Klubnik, who tripped while taking the snap, made a low pitch to Mafah, which made him slip to the ground. With Bryant Wesco Jr. coming around, Mafah’s goal was to toss the ball to his receiver. But since he fell, the ball rolled loose on the ground and Tonka Hemingway recovered it.

This play didn’t prove to be too costly since South Carolina had to punt on the ensuing possession. But it’s very likely that Clemson left more points on the board because it got in its own way.

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Herrera’s clutch field goal

After looking to go for it on 4th and 4 inside the 20, South Carolina was flagged for a delay of game penalty to push the offense back five yards. Intentional or not, this came at a point where the Gamecocks couldn’t have any more mistakes midway through the fourth quarter.

With just under seven minutes to go, they sent Alex Herrera out for a 42-yard field goal. For Gamecock fans, this was probably one of the more stressful moments of the game. Down by a touchdown, if Herrera missed this kick, it might’ve been tough to win on Saturday. After all, the sixth-year kicker’s track record hadn’t been great, making 13-of-18 field goals up to that point.

But when the opportunity presented itself, Herrera came through and nailed the field goal without any issue. This could’ve been like other games where he missed in the big moments. Instead, he took care of business and made it a 14-10 game.

Superman saves the day

Cam Newton might’ve been the original nickname owner of Superman, around the same time that Henry Cavill portrayed the iconic superhero on the big screen. But just like when Cavill was replaced by David Corenswet in the film role, it might be time for Newton to hand that nickname over to LaNorris Sellers.

After the game Sellers had on Saturday, there’s no doubt he is a Superman-like player. The redshirt freshman quarterback made the biggest play of the day to help the Gamecocks complete their fourth quarter comeback.

On 3rd and 16 at the 20, Sellers ran out of the pocket and scrambled around defenders until he found his way into the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown. This go-ahead score gave South Carolina a 17-14 lead with 68 seconds remaining in the game. It capped off a legendary performance in which Sellers ran for 166 yards and two touchdowns.

“It is kind of like Doug Collins, the old Chicago Bulls’ coach. They asked him about, what was that play? It was get the ball to Michael (Jordan) and get the bleep out of the way,” head coach Shane Beamer said. “It was kind of like, get the ball to LaNorris and get out of the way. That is what we did today.”

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Following the Lord and making the game-sealing play

With Clemson driving into Carolina territory with under a minute to go, Demetrius Knight Jr. put his faith in the Lord to help him make the next biggest play of the game. One that would clinch a massive victory for South Carolina.

With 16 seconds to go, Knight followed Mafah and picked off Klubnik’s pass, which went behind the running back and into the South Carolina linebacker’s hands for the game-winning interception. The ball seemingly went off Mafah’s hands and into Knight’s. And from there, pandemonium ensued.

As soon as Knight stood up with the ball in his hands, he and his teammates ran down to the other end of the field to begin the celebration for a remarkable comeback win.

“I asked the Lord before that play, I said, ‘I need you on this one. I need you on this one,’” Knight said. “They’re close. They’re in range. They could easily take this game over. He said it’s going to tip behind him and that’s exactly what the ball did. It came right to me, and I caught it — game.”

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