Clemson vs. South Carolina Football Game Notes

Clemson and South Carolina Meet for 110th Time

• This will be meeting number-110 between Clemson and South Carolina and the 104th consecutive year the two schools have met. That is the second longest active streak of consecutive years played in a rivalry in the nation. The only rivalry longer is Minnesota vs. Wisconsin at 106 games (including the game already played this year).
• The series dates to 1896 and the first year of football at Clemson, the fourth season for South Carolina. Clemson holds the advantage 65-40-4 since that first meeting in Columbia, a game won by South Carolina 12-6. Clemson’s first win took place the following year, an 18-6 victory in Columbia.
• Clemson has won 61 percent of its games against South Carolina and has a .592 overall winning percentage in its history (667-449-45).
• Clemson has more wins over South Carolina than any other school and those victo­ries represent nearly 10 percent of Clemson’s all-time victory total (667). When Clemson won in 2004 it was Clemson’s 600th all-time win.
• The two teams played in Columbia as part of Big Thursday every meeting until 1960. For the 57 Big Thursday games, Clemson had a 33-21-3 advantage. Since the teams have gone to a home and home schedule in 1960, Clemson has a 32-19-1 advantage. Clemson’s winning percentage is nearly identical home and away over that time. Clemson is 16-9-1 against South Carolina at home since 1960 and 16-10-0 in Columbia.
• South Carolina has beaten Clemson each of the last three years, the first time the Gamecocks have done that since the 1968-70 era when they won three straight. South Caro­lina has not beaten Clemson four straight games since 1951-54 era. Clemson only won one game in the series from 1945-54 (1-7-2).
• The Clemson and South Carolina seniors of 1965 experienced four consecutive games decided by four points or less and that is the only time it has happened in the history of the series. Clemson won in 1962 (20-17) and 1963 (24-20), then South Carolina won in 1964 (7-3) and 1965 (17-16). But, even those players did not play in all four games. In 1962 freshmen were not eligible, so those 1965 seniors didn’t even dress for the 1962 game.
• While South Carolina has won three in a row, Clemson has won six of the last 10 and 10 of the last 15.
• The visiting team won seven years in a row between 1991-97.
• Clemson classes who have beaten South Carolina four consecutive years were the seniors of 1900, 1919, 1930, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1983, 1991, 2000 and 2005. In 2005, Charlie Whitehurst became the only quarterback for either team in the series to start four victories.
• Clemson has an overall record of 49-31-3 in Columbia over the years, including a 30-19-2 mark in Williams-Brice Stadium. Clem­son has been especially successful in Columbia since 1988. The Tigers are 9-3 in Columbia since then with the only losses coming in 2001, 2009 and 2011.
• This weekend’s game will be played on the Saturday after Thanksgiving for the seventh year in a row. Clemson has a 9-6 record against South Carolina when the game is played the Saturday after Thanksgiving or on Thanksgiving Day. The only game played on Thanksgiving was the 1963 contest that was moved from the Saturday before Thanksgiving to Thanksgiving due to the death of President John F. Kennedy.

Top 10 Unusual Facts about the Clemson vs. South Carolina Series10. Twenty-nine is an unusual number for a point total in football. Yet four times in the last 31 years the winner of the Clemson-South Carolina game has scored 29 points. That includes 2010 when South Carolina defeated Clemson 29-7. Clemson beat South Carolina by the same score in 2004. Clemson won 29-10 in 1988 and 29-13 in 1981.

9. Charlie Whitehurst is the only start­ing quarterback to lead a team to four wins in the history of the series. He did that for the Tigers between 2002-05.

8. Josh Cody had a 4-0 record for Clemson against South Carolina between 1927-30. He is the only coach in the series to have a perfect record, given a minimum of three games coached.

7. Paul Williams is the last player to letter for both schools. He lettered for Clemson in 1978 and for South Carolina in 1980.

6. A Clemson captain actually played for South Carolina. Cary Cox lettered for the Gamecocks in 1943. After the war, he enrolled at Clemson and served as captain for the Tigers in 1947. Cox died in 2008.

5. Clemson had three touchdown plays of at least 76 yards against South Carolina in 2006, yet lost the game. Jacoby Ford scored on 76-yard touchdown pass, C.J. Spiller on an 80-yard run and Jock McKissic on an 82-yard in­terception return. It is the only game in Clemson history in which Clemson has had three scoring plays of at least 75 yards….and Clemson lost the game.

4. In 1948 and 1981 a blocked punt re­turned for a touchdown proved to be the pivotal play in a Clemson victory, victories that allowed Clemson to go on to an undefeated season. In both instances, the original line of scrimmage was the South Carolina 28-yard-line.

3. Willie Underwood had two inter­ceptions to lead Clemson to victory over South Carolina in 1980. A starter for four years, the strong safety never had recorded an interception in any of his first 46 games as a Tiger, then had two against the Gamecocks in his 47th and final game.

2. In a placekicking career that spanned five years, Bob Paulling made 107 of 109 extra points. Both of his misses were at South Carolina, one in 1981 and one in 1983. He had a streak of 70 consecutive made extra points (second longest in Clemson history) in between the two miscues.

1. In the 30 games that Frank How­ard coached at Clemson against South Carolina, Clemson scored 411 points and South Carolina scored 411 points.

Memorable Clemson Plays vs. South Carolina1948 – Phil Prince blocked a punt and Oscar Thompson returned the ball for a touchdown that gave Clemson a 13-7 win in Columbia and allowed Clemson to keep an undefeated season. The play took place with 4:15 left in the game.

1959 – Harvey White connected with future Super Bowl Champion Bill Mathis for a 26-yard touchdown pass in the third period to put Clemson up 19-0 in the final Big Thursday game in Columbia. White completed 9-10 passes on the day and led the Tigers to the 27-0 victory.

1962 – Don Chuy and Billy Weaver combined to sack Dan Reeves for a 13-yard loss on fourth down with just 33 seconds left, preserv­ing Clemson’s 20-17 victory. South Carolina had driven to the Clemson 25 for that last play.

1966 – Harry Olszewski, an All-America of­fensive guard, picked off a fumbled snap in mid-air and ran 12-yards for a touchdown. The 35-10 victory allowed Clemson to win the ACC title. No Clemson offensive lineman has scored a touchdown in a game in Death Valley since.

1967 – Buddy Gore’s 43-yard run in the third period led to a Tiger touchdown, and was a momentum swaying play in Clemson’s vic­tory over the Gamecocks, a win that allowed Clemson to clinch a tie for the ACC champion­ship. That was the key run on this day that saw Gore become the first Clemson back in history to go over 1000 yards in a season and break Brian Piccolo’s ACC single season rushing record.

1971 – Eddie Seigler kicked a 52-yard field goal to lead Clemson to a 17-7 win over the Game­cocks. It was the first field goal of at least 50 yards in Clemson history.

1972 – With Clemson leading 7-6 in the fourth period, Jimmy Williamson batted down a Dobby Grossman two-point conversion pass to preserve the victory for the Tigers.

1977 – Jerry Butler made a 20-yard touchdown catch of a Steve Fuller pass with 49 seconds left to give Clemson a 31-27 win in Columbia. It clinched a Gator Bowl bid for the Tigers, Clemson’s first bowl bid in 18 years.

1980 – Willie Underwood had a 37-yard inter­ception return for a touchdown that clinched Clemson’s upset of South Carolina and Heis­man Trophy winner George Rogers in 1980. Underwood was named Sports Illustrated Player of the Week for his performance in that game.

1981 – Just as it had happed 33 years previ­ously, a blocked punt played a big part in a Clemson victory over South Carolina that allowed the Tigers to have an undefeated sea­son. Rod McSwain blocked a South Carolina punt and Johnny Rembert recovered in the endzone for the touchdown. Just as it had been 33 years previous, the line of scrimmage was the South Carolina 28.

1988 – Rodney Williams, a native of Colum­bia, led Clemson to a 29-10 victory in his final game at Death Valley. Clemson’s winningest starting quarterback in history threw for 192 and rushed for 38 and scored a touchdown.

1990 – Chris Gardocki made his final punt in Death Valley memorable when he had a 78-yard boot in the fourth quarter to give South Carolina bad field position and clinch Clemson’s 24-15 victory over the Gamecocks. It remains the third longest punt in Clemson history.

1995 – Emory Smith carried South Carolina tacklers 20 yards on the way to a 54-yard run that led to the game clinching touchdown in Columbia. Smith ended the game with 101 yards rushing.

2000 – Rod Gardner’s 50-yard reception from Woody Dantzler with 10 seconds left led to Aaron Hunt’s game winning 25-yard field goal with three seconds left.

2007 – Mark Buchholz kicked a 35-yard field goal on the last play of the game, to give Clemson a 23-21 victory in Columbia.