BOX SCORE | GAME NOTES | PHOTO GALLERY | GAME HIGHLIGHTS
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Clemson (7-5) forced four turnovers, including a Ricardo Jones interception for a touchdown in a six-point game with 3:20 to play, en route to a 28-14 win over South Carolina (4-8) at Williams-Brice Stadium, the Tigers’ sixth consecutive victory in Columbia. The opportunistic Tigers had 415 yards of total offense, 268 passing and 147 on the ground.
Senior running back Adam Randall rushed 24 times for 102 yards and a touchdown. T.J. Moore accumulated 101 receiving yards in six catches, and senior quarterback Cade Klubnik completed 24-of-39 passes for 268 yards and scored a rushing touchdown.
Sammy Brown led Clemson defensively with nine tackles and recovered a fumble forced by Ronan Hanafin. T.J. Parker recorded 3.0 sacks and recovered a fumble forced by Avieon Terrell. Will Heldt added four tackles (2.5 for loss) and 1.5 sacks. Ricardo Jones secured his fifth and sixth interceptions of the season in the game, registering two of Clemson’s four takeaways.
As a team, Clemson broke up 11 passes, and registered six tackles for loss with five sacks.
After the teams traded punts on the first three possessions of the game, Avieon Terrell registered his fifth forced fumble of the season, which T.J. Parker recovered in South Carolina territory. Clemson then reached the opposing 19-yard line before a Cade Klubnik pass was intercepted by Jalon Kilgore in the end zone.
Clemson forced a second South Carolina punt on the ensuing possession, then opened the scoring when Adam Randall rushed for a 10-yard touchdown to finish a seven-play, 78-yard drive, giving the Tigers a 7-0 lead with 12:37 remaining in the first half.
South Carolina responded three plays later on a 53-yard touchdown pass from LaNorris Sellers to Nyck Harbor to level the score at 7-7.
Clemson started the ensuing possession at its own 15-yard line and marched into South Carolina territory. Klubnik recovered his own fumble and carried it into the end zone for a three-yard score to finish an 11-play drive, putting the Tigers back in front, 14-7, with 5:48 remaining in the first half.
South Carolina countered on the next play from scrimmage with a Sellers pass to Vandrevius Jacobs for a 74-yard touchdown.
The next drive was the fifth consecutive scoring possession of the game, as a 32-yard field goal by Nolan Hauser gave Clemson a 17-14 lead with 56 seconds remaining in the first half. Clemson forced a South Carolina three-and-out to take the three-point advantage into halftime.
Clemson forced a three-and-out to open the second half, then added to its lead on a 42-yard Hauser field goal to finish a 12-play, 56-yard drive and extend the lead to 20-14.
The teams traded punts on the next two possessions, then South Carolina drove to the Clemson 18-yard line before LaNorris Sellers was intercepted in the end zone by Ricardo Jones with 13 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
After a Clemson punt, South Carolina drove to the Clemson 34-yard line before Wade Woodaz broke up a Sellers pass on fourth-and-three to force a turnover on downs, giving Clemson the ball with 8:48 remaining in the contest.
Clemson drove to the South Carolina 34-yard line but was ultimately forced to punt. South Carolina took over from its own five-yard line with 3:29 remaining in the game trailing 20-14. Ricardo Jones secured his second interception of the game and returned it 12 yards for a touchdown on the next play, extending the Clemson lead to 28-14 after a Klubnik pass to Adam Randall for a successful two-point conversion.
Brown recovered a fumble forced by Hanafin on the ensuing possession, and Clemson took over at the South Carolina 40-yard line. Clemson punted the ball back to South Carolina, which took over at its own five-yard line with 2:04 remaining. South Carolina drove into Clemson territory but came up empty as the Tigers secured the rivalry win.
Clemson will now await its bowl destination, which will be announced on Sunday, Dec. 7. Fans should stay tuned to ClemsonTigers.com for ticket information on Clemson’s bowl destination.
