No bowl November: Clemson wins, dashes South Carolina’s postseason hopes
Just after he seemingly finished a TV interview, Shane Beamer turned around. His team was down just six points. He needed to hurry back to the sideline. But he turned around to say one last thing to SEC Network reporter Alyssa Lang.
“Hey, by the way” Beamer said, “we were down by more than this last year at Clemson and came back.”
Dabo Swinney probably knew that. So, too, did running back Will Shipley. And quarterback Cade Klubnik. And every person decked out in orange and white tempering their expectations at halftime of what became a 16-7 victory for the Tigers (8-4).
On Saturday night, Clemson played the second half like a team that has spent the past 364 days thinking about what happened last year. Thinking about the South Carolina comeback. The home winning streak snapped. The feeling of seeing South Carolina celebrate in the rivalry game for the first time in forever.
“Gutty performance by those guys,” Beamer said of Clemson. “Really disappointing performance by us.”
After a one-year hiatus, Clemson reclaimed the Palmetto Bowl trophy. Not only that, but the Tigers ensured that South Carolina (5-7) would not play in a bowl for the first time in the Beamer era.
“I feel so crappy for our seniors right now to not give them the finish they deserve,” Beamer said. “If any team had a reason to throw in the towel and say, ‘It just ain’t our year’ ... this team easily could have and they never did.”
It ended because a shaky offensive line was bullied by Clemson’s dinosaurs on the defensive line.
It ended because USC did not win the turnover battle. That was the key. That is normally always the key to beating more-talented teams. And, not only did South Carolina not win the turnover battle, it lost it in three plays. Clemson returned a Xavier Legette fumble for a touchdown on the second play of the night and picked off Spencer Rattler on the third.
“About the worst possible start you can have,” Beamer said. “We created takeaways the last three weeks and we just didn’t get enough of them tonight.”
It ended because South Carolina literally could not hang onto the ball. Perhaps it was the 47-degree weather. Or the pressure. Or the footsteps of Clemson’s behemoths. But, nonetheless, South Carolina’s skill players dropped probably 10 passes (give or take), stalling drive after drive.
It ended because the Gamecocks biggest advantage — their quarterback — was nullified by a ball-hawking defense that gave Rattler little time and even less space. In possibly his final collegiate game, Rattler completed just 16 of his 32 passes for 112 yards. The Gamecocks finished with just 169 total yards.
“I’m just sad we couldn’t play at a higher level,” Rattler said postgame. “They were pressuring every play pretty much ... They caused a lot of problems for us.”
It ended — but not because of its defense. Who would have thought that? For as many verbal and actual blows as defensive coordinator Clayton White’s for the first two-thirds of the season, they were quite good in November. And, on Saturday, they were exceptional, allowing just 100 passing yards and zero touchdowns.
“I just wish we could have gotten everything to click together at the beginning of the season,” said linebacker Debo Williams, who led the Gamecocks with 11 tackles on Saturday.
Clemson will now spend the ensuing week resting up before it learns its bowl fate next Sunday. It will head in December on a four-game winning streak, an eight-win regular season and a revenge victory over the Gamecocks.
There will still be folks in the Upstate irate over the four losses, but Swinney can spend the winter talking about potential and trajectory and how the Clemson stock is back on the rise.
Meanwhile, South Carolina’s offseason begins at sunrise. Beamer first needs to decide if he wants to make staff changes. Then he needs to turn his attention to the Gamecocks’ roster.
The USC coaches will see who wants to enter the transfer portal and who they can talk out of hopping in the transfer portal. They will gauge the interest of seniors like Mario Anderson and Tonka Hemingway in coming back for a super-senior season. Then they themselves will take a look inside the transfer portal. They will see who they need to replace.
“We’ve got a helluva team coming back next year,” Beamer said. “Unbelievable group of freshmen coming in. We have to get better as coaches — we weren’t good enough this year.”
All of those things were easier last year. Everything is easier after wins over Tennessee and Clemson, after the season ends with upsets and hugs and field stormings. They are tougher after nights like Saturday, where the fans left the building before the Gamecocks left the field.
This story was originally published November 25, 2023 at 10:54 PM with the headline "No bowl November: Clemson wins, dashes South Carolina’s postseason hopes."
