South Carolina-Clemson: The good and bad, key moments, what it means

They’re still alive.

In nearly improbable fashion, South Carolina did it. Behind a late comeback effort in the fourth quarter, the No. 15 Gamecocks (9-3, 5-3 SEC) picked up a 17-14 win over No. 12 Clemson on Saturday.

Let’s break this game down.

What this win means

For starters, the Gamecocks are still very much in the hunt for the College Football Playoff. A lot still needs to happen with more chaos in other games. But for now, a win on its own keeps that conversation going.

This marks the second time in three years that South Carolina has beaten Clemson. It’s also the second consecutive time the Gamecocks have won in Death Valley.

This game had it all. The drama and everything in between. Even when they trailed most of the way, they made the plays needed when it mattered the most to get the job done. A massive win in Death Valley.

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The good

Houdini Sellers—There’s not much more you can say about the things LaNorris Sellers does. Even when it looked like Clemson was going to bring him down, (which it did a few times) the redshirt freshman quarterback made indescribable plays with his feet to extend plays. On the second play of the game, Sellers broke out of a sack and ran for 38 yards to quickly move into Clemson territory.

Later in the first half, with South Carolina set up for 1st and 10 at the Clemson 25-yard line, Sellers evaded three defenders who could’ve brought him down for a sack. After breaking free, he had a lot of green grass and ran towards the pylon for a 25-yard touchdown to tie the game at seven. This was a common theme throughout the day with too many big runs to count.

The defense—Even when the defense wasn’t playing its best, it gave the Gamecocks more than enough of a shot to win on Saturday. Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik made a lot of big plays but when the defense needed to make the biggest play of the game, it did so. Demetrius Knight Jr. sealed the deal with an interception to stun a shocked Clemson crowd.

The bad

Blocking in general—Right from the start of the game, Clemson’s defense brought plenty of pressure and didn’t hold anything back. While South Carolina’s offensive line has played better, it wasn’t able to handle how often the Tigers were blitzing. This led to Sellers being sacked three times.

But it wasn’t even just the five upfront not blocking consistently. The perimeter blocking was also a big issue at times with multiple missed blocks on short passes and outside runs. Overall, the blocking was better in the second half. But still something to keep an eye on nonetheless.

Costly mistakes—Turnovers were ultimately where this game was going to be won and lost. South Carolina was careless and didn’t do enough to protect the football on offense. As a result, the Gamecocks turned the ball over twice in Clemson territory on a pair of fumbles. Sellers also threw an interception in the fourth quarter. But fortunately, the Gamecocks were able to persevere and find a way in the end.

Torricelli Simpkins’ inexcusable penalties—There’s no real way to sugarcoat it. Simpkins had two personal foul penalties in the second half on critical drives. Just bad. The first came in the third quarter after he was called for unnecessary roughness. This pushed the offense back into its own territory with no choice but to punt. The second and more egregious penalty came with South Carolina in the red zone in the fourth quarter. After a first down run by Sellers, Simpkins pushed a Clemson defender out of bounds, which would be called for a late hit.

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Key moments

A huge stop—Still scoreless near the end of the first quarter, Clemson was driving down the field and inside the red zone with under a minute to go. Rather than kick a chip shot field goal, Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney elected to go for it and sent out his jumbo package. Even with a nice barricade in front of running back Phil Mafah, he was stuffed for no gain and a turnover on downs.

Wasting a golden opportunity—For the first time all game, Clemson made a bad decision in the third quarter when the offense decided to get cute and fumbled the ball away after a long review. This was the big break South Carolina needed with the Tigers in plus territory. But after multiple penalties, the Gamecocks were forced to punt and did nothing to build on their brief momentum.

Crucial turnover in plus territory—Right after Simpkins’ second personal foul of the day, which knocked South Carolina out of the red zone, Sellers threw an interception to Khalil Barnes. This came in the fourth quarter with the Gamecocks down by a touchdown.

The final offensive drive—After so much went wrong throughout the day, South Carolina had one chance to make up for it all. Down 14-10 with a little over a minute to go, the Gamecocks faced a daunting 3rd and 15 in the red zone. And just when it seemed all hope was lost, Sellers scrambled and found the end zone for a go-ahead, 20-yard touchdown.

Offensive player of the game

Easy answer here. LaNorris Sellers. South Carolina wouldn’t have had a chance in this game if not for him. He didn’t have the greatest game ever, but he stepped up and made a lot of the big plays needed to keep this game close. He finished 13-for-21 passing for 164 yards and rushed for 166 yards and two touchdowns.

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Defensive player of the game

Demetrius Knight Jr. had himself a day. He led the way with 10 tackles and had the game-sealing interception in the final seconds of the fourth quarter.

Moving forward

The Gamecocks will now await their postseason fate and see where they’ll be heading next. The College Football Playoff bracket, Top 25 rankings and bowl matchups will be revealed on Selection Day, which is next Sunday, Dec. 8 from 12-4 p.m. on ESPN.

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