CLEMSON SMOTHERS SOUTH CAROLINA FOR 6TH STRAIGHT YEAR, 38-3; EXTENDS WIN STREAK TO 27
- 2019-12-01 11:44:17
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COLUMBIA, SC – Apparently the bye week did not disrupt the
Tigers’ momentum or focus whatsoever because they dominated the Gamecocks from
start to finish the same way they had each of the previous six opponents. It
was the third time the Gamecocks had an opportunity at home to spoil a perfect season
for their in-state nemesis, but the Tigers were having none of it and walked
out of Columbia with a 38-3 win. They have beaten the Gamecocks six straight
years—the longest streak for either school since the Tigers won six in a row in
the 1930’s—and they have outscored the Gamecocks 184-55 in the last four
meetings. The Gamecocks have scored single digits in three of the last four.
The game did not start slowly, as the Tigers marched right
down the field on their opening possession, but the Gamecocks came up with a
goal line stand, stopping the Tigers on four plays inside the 5-yard line to
force a turnover on downs. However, the Tigers would quickly seize momentum
back when SC native Derion Kendrick intercepted freshman quarterback Ryan
Hilinski and returned it to the Gamecock 23. This time, the Tigers capitalized
on their opportunity and Trevor Lawrence threw a beautiful touchdown pass to
Tee Higgins in the corner of the end zone on 3rd and 9. Higgins
would also score the Tigers’ next touchdown on another perfect pass from Trevor
down the seam, and with that Higgins became the first player for “WRU” to post
10 TD receptions in consecutive seasons. It’s just remarkable how many program
and ACC records this team has broken. Higgins had just three catches in the
game, but they went for 101 yards and two touchdowns. He nearly made a
spectacular catch early for a big gain, but the DB was able to knock the ball
out at the last second. Justyn Ross also had a big game with 9 catches for 111
yards and a touchdown, his 7th of the season.
Sir Lawrence continued his regal play both through the air and
on the ground, going 26-36 for 295 yards and 3 touchdowns with no
interceptions. It was his 7th straight game with at least 3 TD passes,
extending his Clemson record. He also rushed for 66 yards, a new career high, on
8 carries. Two of the runs were big 3rd down conversions. To me, that
is probably the biggest difference between the offense this year and last.
Trevor’s running has really become a weapon, and he has shown the ability to score
and extend drives with his legs when the receivers are all covered. Teams are
going to have to start accounting for it with a spy, and that will make it even
harder to cover all these receivers, backs and tight ends.
Travis Etienne did not have the production we’d seen over
the previous six games, rushing for over 100 yards in each, but he did score
two touchdowns to break James Conner’s ACC career TD records, both for rush TD’s
and all-purpose TD’s. He finished with 51 yards on 3.4 yard per carry, and that
is a result of the Gamecocks loading the box to stop the run. The Tigers
exploited that scheme with the big passing plays. Lyn-J Dixon continued his
steady production with 60 yards on 12 carries.
The story of the game, though, and really the season was the
defense. They allowed just 174 total yards and 3 points. The 105 passing yards
put the Tigers back ahead of Ohio State for the No.1 pass defense in the nation
after a one-week hiatus at No.2. The Tigers have held all 12 opponents under
300 yards this season, and that’s the first time any team has done that since at
least 1996 according to retired SID Tim Bourret. Even the reserves were able to
come in and keep the Gamecocks off the scoreboard. LB Mike Jones made a
terrific pass breakup to force a turnover on downs, and his teammates
celebrated the play like it was the biggest of the season.
The Tigers played a clean game on both sides of the ball,
not turning the ball over and winning the turnover margin. Will Spiers had
perhaps his best career game, pinning the Gamecocks inside their 10-yard line on
both of his punts and averaging 47 yards per. The only real disappointment of
the game was Potter’s missed 32-yard field goal. For whatever reason, he
continues to struggle on the close ones from the right hash. Perhaps Dabo will
give Sawicki another opportunity on the short field goals.
The Tigers are 12-0 for the second straight season, the
third time in five years and the fourth time in program history. They extended
their win streak to 27 games, which is the longest streak since FSU won 29 from
2012 to 2014. If the Tigers go on to win their second straight national title,
they will break that mark! Next up is the ACC Championship Game against UVA,
which will certainly be ranked this week and is the 5th different
opponent the Tigers will face in 5 years at the ACC Championship. Astoundingly,
all 7 teams in the Coastal Division have now won the division over the last 7
years. That will never happen again, folks, maybe in any sport. If the Tigers
win their 5th straight ACC Championship Game to lock up a 5th
straight College Football Playoff, Clemson will be the first school ever to win
5 consecutive conference championship games. Clemson and Florida are the only
schools to have won 4 in a row. If the Tigers take care of business and beat
the Wahoos, Clemson and Alabama will be the only to programs to have made five
consecutive trips to the College Football Playoff! After losing at Auburn
yesterday, Alabama will not be making a sixth trip, so there will be no Clemson
vs. Alabama V this year.
I’ll have the ACC Championship Teleconference with Dabo and
Bronco Mendenhall posted for you on Sunday evening, so stay tuned!
GAME NOTES
- Clemson has now recorded a seven-game streak of 30-point wins to tie the longest streak in the AP Poll era (since 1936), per ESPN Stats & Info, matching Houston in 2011 and Michigan in 1976.
- The 35-point margin of victory was Clemson’s seventh largest in series history and its largest since a 49-point win against the Gamecocks in 2016.
- Clemson entered the contest having won its last three games in the series against South Carolina by at least 21 points (49 points in 2016, 24 points in 2017 and 21 points in 2018). The fourth consecutive win of 21 points of more marks the longest streak of 21-point victories in the series by either team.
- The three points allowed by Clemson are the fewest in the series since shutting out South Carolina in 1989. Clemson allowed 179 yards, the fewest allowed by Clemson in the series since that 1989 contest (155).
- Clemson held a 12th straight opponent below 300 yards of total offense to open the season. Per ESPN Stats & Info, Clemson is the first team in searchable data dating back to 1996 to open a season by holding its first 12 opponents to 300 or fewer yards. Ohio State had held its first 11 opponents this year under 300 yards but gave up 396 yards at Michigan on Saturday.
- Clemson has now held 15 consecutive opponents to 20 or fewer points for the first time since a 31-game streak across the 1937-40 seasons under Hall of Fame coaches Jess Neely and Frank Howard.
- Clemson held a 10th consecutive opponent below 200 passing yards for the first time since the final 10 games of the 1977 regular season.
- Clemson won the turnover margin, 1-0, and has now won the turnover margin in seven consecutive games for the first time under Head Coach Dabo Swinney.
- Clemson won the turnover margin for a ninth time overall this season, which matched the 2013 squad for Clemson's most such games in a season under Head Coach Dabo Swinney.
- Clemson gained 527 yards and reached 500 yards in a seventh straight game for the first time since an 11-game streak to end the 2015 season.
- Clemson did not turn the ball over and has produced zero giveaways in four of the last five games.
- Clemson (6,501) has now posted the eighth 6,000-yard season in Clemson history. All but one of the eight 6,000-yard seasons have come in Dabo Swinney's head coaching tenure.
- Clemson has now thrown three or more touchdowns in seven straight games for the first time in school history.
- Clemson’s second touchdown of the game, a 65-yard touchdown pass, was Clemson’s 70th touchdown of the season, as the 2019 squad produced the fourth 70-touchdown season in school history to join the 2018 (90), 2016 (75) and 2015 (71) campaigns. Clemson's 73 touchdowns this season have been scored by 18 different players.
- During the contest, Clemson (3,077) reached 3,000 rushing yards on the season to record the seventh 3,000-yard rushing season in program history.
- Clemson rushed for multiple touchdowns in a 13th consecutive game for the first time since a 15-game streak across the 2016-17 seasons.
- Clemson out-passed South Carolina, 316-105, and produced more passing yards than its opponent in a 15th consecutive game, dating to last season, for the first time since an 18-game streak across the 2015-17 seasons.
- Quarterback Trevor Lawrence completed 26-of-36 passes for 295 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed eight times for a career-high 66 yards.
- Lawrence’s 361 combined yards of total offense were the fourth-most of his career and his second-most of the season (437 at Syracuse).
- Lawrence’s 295 passing yards were Clemson’s fourth-most against South Carolina in school history. Including his school-best 393 passing yards against South Carolina, Lawrence is responsible for two of the top four passing yardage performances against the Gamecocks in school history.
- Lawrence has now thrown a touchdown pass in 22 consecutive games. His current streak is the longest active streak in the country. (Note: UCF's McKenzie Milton had a 24-game streak prior to suffering an injury in November 2018 that will likely preclude him from playing in 2019).
- Lawrence (30) threw three touchdowns to tie his single-season career high in passing touchdowns (30), set as a freshman last year.
- Lawrence’s third touchdown pass was his 30th of the season, as he joined Tajh Boyd and Deshaun Watson as the only players in school history to throw 30 touchdown passes in multiple seasons.
- Lawrence has now thrown three touchdown passes in seven consecutive games for the first time in his career. He had already been the first Clemson quarterback to accomplish the feat in six straight games.
- Lawrence set a school record for consecutive completions in a single game, completing 18 consecutive passes to break the mark held by Cullen Harper (15 vs. Central Michigan in 2007) and Kelly Bryant (15 vs. Miami in 2017).
- Lawrence’s 18 consecutive completions tied ACC single-game records held by Virginia's Michael Rocco (vs. Miami in 2012) and North Carolina's Mitch Trubisky (vs. James Madison in 2016).
- Lawrence entered the contest having thrown 111 consecutive pass attempts without an interception, dating to the first quarter at Louisville on Oct. 19, a streak he pushed to 147. Since the start of the second quarter at Louisville, Lawrence is 112-of-147 for 1,564 yards with 19 touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 202.4 in that span.
- During the game, Lawrence (475) passed Nealon Greene (458) and Woodrow Dantzler (460) for fifth on Clemson's leaderboard for career pass completions.
- Lawrence (6,150) also passed Dantzler (6,037) for fourth on Clemson's career passing yardage leaderboard and tied Dantzler (68) for third in school history in career total touchdown responsibility.
- Running back Travis Etienne rushed 15 times for 51 yards with two rushing touchdowns.
- Etienne scored a two-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter and a three-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.
- Etienne rushed for a touchdown in a sixth straight game for the first time since the final five games of 2018 and the 2019 season opener. It tied that streak by Etienne and a six-game streak produced by Woodrow Dantzler in 2000 for the seventh-longest streak in school history.
- The first rushing touchdown was Etienne’s 15th rushing touchdown of the season, as he became the first player in Clemson history to rush for at least 15 touchdowns in multiple seasons in a career.
- The second rushing touchdown was Etienne’s 53rd of his career, breaking the ACC record for career rushing touchdowns held by Pitt's James Conner. He also broke Conner's ACC record for career total touchdowns (56).
- Etienne (342) also passed Conner (338) as the highest-scoring non-kicker in ACC history in the contest and now trails only 11 kickers in career scoring in conference history.
- Etienne (1,386 this year) passed Raymond Priester for third on Clemson's single-season rushing yardage leaderboard.
- Etienne recorded his first kickoff return of the season on the game’s opening kick, gaining 32 yards. It was his first kickoff return since the 2018 Sugar Bowl to conclude the 2017 season.
- Etienne (4,673) recorded 138 all-purpose yards in the game and passed Andre Ellington (4,586) for fourth on Clemson's leaderboard for career all-purpose yards.
- Wide receiver Tee Higgins caught three passes for 101 yards with two receiving touchdowns. He now has five touchdown receptions on seven catches in his last two games.
- The 100-yard receiving game was Higgins’ third of the season and seventh of his career.
- During the game, Higgins (2,181) passed Hunter Renfrow (2,133) for 11th on Clemson's career receiving yardage list.
- Higgins opened the scoring with a 10-yard receiving touchdown from Lawrence in the first quarter.
- On Clemson’s next drive, Higgins recorded a 65-yard touchdown reception from Lawrence.
- The touchdown was Clemson’s ninth covering 50 yards or more this season, tied for its sixth-most in a season since 1950.
- Higgins has now caught multiple touchdowns in back-to-back games for the first time in his career, becoming the first Clemson receiver to catch multiple touchdown passes in back-to-back games since Deon Cain vs. Louisville and Boston College in 2016.
- Higgins’ second touchdown reception was his 10th of the season. Including his 12 touchdown receptions in 2018, Higgins is now the first player in school history to post double-digit touchdown receptions in consecutive seasons. He joins Sammy Watkins (2011 and 2013) as the only players in school history to post 10 or more touchdown receptions in multiple seasons in a career.
- Higgins has now caught a touchdown in four straight games for the first time this season. He caught touchdown passes in five straight games across the final four games of the 2018 season and the 2019 season opener.
- Wide receiver Justyn Ross caught a career-high nine passes for 111 yards with a touchdown. The nine passes surpassed his seven-catch performance vs. Texas A&M earlier this season.
- The 100-yard receiving game was Ross’ first of the season and the fourth of his career.
- Ross recorded a 16-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter. The touchdown reception was his seventh of the season and 16th of his career. He is now one touchdown shy of tying Perry Tuttle (17 from 1978-81) for 10th-most career receiving touchdowns in Clemson history.
- With Higgins and Ross, Clemson had two receivers record 100 receiving yards in a single game for the first time since 2017, when Higgins and Deon Cain accomplished the feat against The Citadel.
- With 60 yards in the game, Lyn-J Dixon (572) broke his single-season career high in rushing yards (547) set as a freshman last season.
- Clemson opened the game with a 14-play drive, its longest of the season and longest since an 18-play drive on the final possession of last year’s College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
- Clemson finished the first quarter with a 14-0 lead and has now outscored opponents 156-10 in the opening frame this season. Clemson’s 12.1-point average first-quarter differential is the largest in the country this season.
- Cornerback Derion Kendrick ended South Carolina’s first possession by recording his second interception of the season. It was Clemson’s second opening-drive takeaway of the season, joining K’Von Wallace’s opening-drive interception at Louisville on Oct. 19.
- With Kendrick’s interception, Clemson produced a takeaway for a seventh consecutive game and for the 15th time in 16 games, dating to 2018.
- Linebacker Isaiah Simmons, a Bednarik and Nagurski finalist, posted 10 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, a sack and a pass breakup. His 10 tackles were one shy of his season high set at Syracuse.
- Defensive tackle Jordan Williams pushed his season sack total to 2.5 and career sack total to 4.0.
- Kicker B.T. Potter recorded a 46-yard field goal in the second quarter.
- Captains for the contest were offensive lineman Gage Cervenka, safety Denzel Johnson, defensive tackle Nyles Pinckney, offensive lineman John Simpson.
WITH THE WIN....
- Clemson completed its eighth undefeated regular season in school history, joining the 1900 (6-0), 1906 (4-0-3), 1948 (10-0), 1950 (8-0-1), 1981 (11-0), 2015 (12-0) and 2018 (12-0) Clemson squads. It marks Clemson's sixth time finishing a regular season without any losses or ties.
- Clemson has now opened a season 12-0 for only the fourth time, joining a 12-0 record in every game of the 1981 season and a 12-0 mark in the first 12 games of the 2015 and 2018 seasons.
- Clemson won its first 12 games of a season for the third time under Head Coach Dabo Swinney (2015 and 2018). Swinney was already the first coach in Clemson history to coach the school to multiple 12-0 starts. Danny Ford accomplished the feat once during Clemson's 1981 national championship campaign.
- With their 12th win, the 2019 Tigers tied the 1981 and 2017 squads for the fourth-most wins in a season in school history.
- Clemson earned its 115th victory this decade to join Alabama and Ohio State of the 2010s and Penn and Yale of the 1890s as the only major college football programs since 1890 to win 115 games in a single decade.
- The 2019 Clemson seniors won their 53rd game to tie the 2017 Alabama seniors for third-most in FBS history in a four-year span. The group matched the 2018 Alabama seniors as the fastest to 53 wins (56 games).
- Clemson won its 27th consecutive game, dating to the start of the 2018 season, to extend the longest winning streak in school history and second-longest winning streak in ACC history. The 27-game winning streak now stands in sole possession of the 18th-longest streak in major college football history.
- The victory was Clemson’s 10th against a Power Five conference opponent this season, the most in the country. Clemson finished the regular season having won its 10 games against Power Five opponents by an average margin of 33.5 points, including eight victories of 31 or more points.
- Clemson improved to 71-42-4 all-time against South Carolina. Clemson's 71 all-time wins against South Carolina are the program's most against any opponent.
- Clemson has now recorded six consecutive wins against South Carolina for the first time since a seven-game streak from 1934-40. That seven-game streak stands as the longest winning streak in the series by either team.
- Clemson's 2019 senior class became the 14th class in school history to defeat South Carolina in four consecutive seasons, joining the 1900, 1919, 1930, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1983, 1991, 2000, 2005, 2017 and 2018 seniors.
- Clemson moved its all-time road record against South Carolina to 52-32-3. Clemson's 52 road wins at South Carolina are more than double its most all-time road wins against any other opponent. Clemson's second-most road wins against an opponent is 25 at Wake Forest.
- Clemson won a third straight road game against South Carolina for the first time since defeating the Gamecocks on the road three times across the 2003-07 seasons.
- Head Coach Dabo Swinney improved to 7-5 all-time against South Carolina and became the first Clemson coach with wins against the Gamecocks in six straight years since Jess Neely accomplished the feat in his final six games in the series from 1934-39.
- Swinney became the fourth coach in Clemson history to defeat South Carolina seven times, joining Frank Howard (13), Danny Ford (7) and Tommy Bowden (7).
- Clemson improved to 10-1 against SEC competition since 2016 and won its 10th straight regular season game against SEC competition. Clemson's last regular season loss to an SEC team came against Georgia in 2014.
- Clemson won its 12th straight true road game, the longest active streak in the country, to tie the school-record 12-game streak from 2015-17.
- Clemson earned its 24th victory in its last 25 true road games and its 37th victory in its last 40 games away from home.
- Clemson won its 23rd consecutive regular season non-conference game. Clemson's current streak against non-conference opponents in the regular season dates to a 73-7 win against South Carolina State on Sept. 6, 2014. No member of Clemson's current roster has lost a non-conference game in regular season play.
- Clemson concluded its regular season on a 29-game regular season winning streak, the longest active streak in the country. Clemson's current regular season winning streak started following a regular season loss at Syracuse on Oct. 13, 2017.
- Clemson improved to 49-0 when scoring first since 2015.
- Clemson has now won 77 of its last 79 games when leading at halftime.
- Clemson improved to 98-2 since 2011 when leading after three quarters.
- Clemson now has a 98-2 record when totaling more first downs than its opponent since 2011.
- Clemson improved to 44-1 since 2015 when outscoring opponents in the "Middle Eight," defined as the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half. Clemson outscored South Carolina, 10-0, in that time window.
- Clemson now has a 56-3 record when winning the turnover margin since 2011.
- Clemson improved to 64-1 when rushing for 200+ yards under Dabo Swinney.
- Clemson is now 50-0 when both passing and rushing for 200+ yards under Dabo Swinney.
- Clemson has now won 80 straight games when holding teams under 23 points (dates to 2010).
- Clemson pushed its winning streak in Saturday games to 41 to extend the longest Saturday winning streak in school history. Clemson's current run of consecutive Saturday victories is the longest active streak in the country.
- Clemson concluded the month having won 14 games in a row in November.
- Clemson has now won 73 of its last 75 games against unranked teams.
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