The Battle of the Palmetto State

Clemson travels to Columbia, SC to take on in-state rival South Carolina in one of the Nation's biggest rivalries. The Gamecocks tough out a 31-21 win in a back and forth Battle. Both defenses had difficulties stopping the opposing Award Candidate tailbacks, as both Andre Ellington (123 yards, 2 TDs) and Marcus Lattimore (122 yards, 2 TDs) eclipsed the century mark. Lattimore won the matchup of stud HBs, as he also added another 80 yards and a TD through the air. Not to be overshadowed by the ground game, fellow Heisman candidate WR Ashlon Jeffery contributed 168 yards and a TD of his own.
The game was tied going into the half, with both teams going into their locker rooms with 14 points. But the Carolina defense came out more aggressively in the second and managed to open up a 10 point lead going into the 4th. Clemson was able to answer back quickly on a huge pass and run by their FB for a 55 yard TD, bringing the deficit back to 3. The Gamecocks then marched down the field, making it to the Clemson 5 with 2 minutes to go in the game. Coach Spurrier misplayed the clock and called for a kneel down on 1st down. This led to the controversial decision of whether to play for a TD and a safe lead or risk a 6 point lead and giving the Tigers the ball back with 20 seconds left. Not one to leave anything up to chance, the Ol' Ball Coach went for the score. Needless to say, there was no End of Game Handshake after that call.
When asked by Erin Andrews about the scrutinized play, Spurrier answered, "I owe these young men a chance at playing for a National Title. We are one step closer to doing so after beating one of our biggest Rivals. What do I tell those boys if Clemson turns around and returns the kick for a TD? Or maybe throws one up and one of their Boys makes a big play?"
For now, all he needs to tell them is to get ready for LSU in the SEC Conference Championship game.


Lattimore can't be stopped in the Redzone


A 66 yard reminder that you can't leave 21 alone in the Passing Game


Single coverage on Jeffery is never a good idea

this is what a great recap is suppose to look like...Good job G!

sounds like a great game, and great recap!

Clemson needs some recruits in the secondary! We will see what happens next year when South Carolina visits Death Valley. Good luck in the SEC championship

I honestly think the clock could have been run down to like 5 seconds or so. I think most would have taken a knee there. I was out of time-outs and after the first kneel down i stopped picking a defense and with no time-outs i was left with a shit defense when SC decided to run a play.....so I was a little pissed. I thought he was padding Lattimore's stats. If u were not, I am sorry

Sorry for the misunderstanding, man. I have no intention of padding stats (funny, considering what their end of season stats look like). And I would never purposely do that in a user game. In retrospect, I should have paused it and told you I needed to run a play to avoid the confusion, but there was no ill intent on my part. Hated having such a great game leave a bad taste in your mouth.