Clemson vs. South Carolina: Tigers Get the Win 28-14 Over the Gamecocks

In the final regular season game of the year, Clemson traveled down to Columbia to take on USC as underdogs against the Gamecocks according to ESPN. USC, at 4-7 on the year, was playing its final game of the year. It was a back and forth game with some explosive plays, but the Gamecocks fell apart at the end. Turnovers really doomed them, and the Tigers came away with a 28-14 win.

The Tigers started the game on offense and got off to a nice start with a 25-yard pass from Cade Klubnik to T.J. Moore out to midfield. The drive sputtered after that when a 3rd down completion to Antonio Williams that would have moved the chains was called back because of a false start. The Tiger defense started great, forcing a 3 & out. The second Tiger drive was a 3 and out as Klubnik was unable to get to the line to gain on a 3rd & 6 scramble. The punt pinned the Gamecocks deep but they were able to dig out of the hole. They completed a pass out near the 40 but Aveion Terrell stripped the ball and the Tigers recovered it at the USC 45. A key play on the drive was a 12-yard catch by Williams on 3rd & 6. Klubnik had a chance to hit Williams in the end zone but overthrew him while under pressure. On the next play he completed a pass in the end zone, unfortunately to a Gamecock defender. USC moved out past the 30 but then the Clemson defense tightened up and forced a punt. The Tiger drive started with a 35-yard catch by Moore to move the ball into USC territory. A short run by Gideon Davidson ended the quarter with a goose egg on the scoreboard for both teams.

The Tigers moved to the USC 17 0n a 26-yard pass to Williams. A few plays later Adam Randall took it in from the 10. Clemson led 7-0 with 12:37 to go in the half. The Gamecocks got their offense in gear and ended up scoring on a 53-yard pass where the deep Clemson defenders looked like they were running in wet concrete. At the 11:14 mark, the game was tied 7-7. Clemson got some momentum going with catches by Cole Turner and Moore and some very nice runs by Randall. Klubnik pushed into the red zone on a designed run and was the victim of one of the worst facemask penalties I’ve seen in a long time. At 1st & goal from the 10, a couple of Randall runs moved the ball to the 2. On 3rd down, Klubnik had the ball stripped but he picked it up and ran it in. It was ugly but it resulted in points. Clemson led 14-7 with just under 6 minutes to go in the half. USC came right back with a 74-yard TD pass to tie the game again. Clemson followed with a good drive into Gamecock territory at the 40 as the 2-minute timeout arrived. A pass interference penalty gave the Tigers the ball at the Gamecock 15. A holding penalty on the Tigers put them at 2nd & 16 from the 21 and they couldn’t work their way back from that. They settled for a 32-yard Nolan Hauser FG to give the Tigers a 17-14 lead with about a minute left. The Tiger defense kept the Gamecocks from doing anything on their possession and after the punt the Tigers got the ball at their 33 with 19 seconds left. The Tigers were unable to get enough yardage to get into ranger for a FG attempt and the first half ended with Clemson up 17-14.

USC got the ball first in the 2nd half and went 3 & out. Clemson did a little better on their drive but not much. The drive was saved, however, when USC roughed punter Jack Smith. A 24-yard pass to Christian Bentancour moved the Tigers down inside the USC 30 but that’s about as far as they got. Hauser kicked another FG to stretch the lead to 20-14 with 8:32 to go in the quarter. USC followed with a decent drive that got them into Tiger territory but they ended up having to punt. The punt was a good one and the Tiger offense got the ball at their 4. but they went 3 & out. The punt (and a hold on the return) gave the Gamecocks the ball at their 36. They moved into Tiger territory again, inside the 25 but their drive ended when Ricardo Jones made an interception in the end zone. An 8-yard pass to Williams ended the quarter.

Clemson moved into USC territory but then the drive fizzled out. The Gamecocks put together a decent drive but eventually faced a 4th & 3 at the Tiger 34. Wade Woodaz tipped the pass and ended the drive. With 8:31 left, the Tigers started feeding Randall the ball and they moved down the field into Gamecock territory, eating up clock. But penalties and questionable play calling ended the drive. The punt was downed at the US 5 with 3:31 left. On the 1st play, the pass was deflected and Ricardo Jones picked it off and ran it in. The Tigers decided to go for two and make it a 14-point lead. Klubnik hit Randall in the flat for the easy score. Clemson led 28-14 with 3:20 left. USC fumbled the ball a couple of plays into their drive and Clemson recovered it. Randall appeared to have another TD from 35 yards out, but a holding call at the point of attack negated it and the Tigers had to punt. Smith had another good punt that pinned the Gamecocks at their 5 with 2 minutes left. The Gamecocks moved down the field but the defense kept them from scoring and the game ended with a 28-14 win for the Tigers.

It was a game typical of this 2025 team with the Tigers looking good at some points and awful at others. But they got the win to end the regular season, making it 4 in a row, and 6 straight wins in Columbia. This season certainly has not been what we expected at the start of the season, but any season that ends with a victory over the chickens is a good season. Now it’s on to bowl season. Any predictions where the Tigers will end up? Let’s discuss it below. Thanks for stopping by STS!