Clemson-South Carolina: This One is 'Personal'

Co-defensive coordinator Mickey Conn said he and the rest of the Tigers are taking this weekend's rivalry game with the Gamecocks personal.

Suddenly, there's a little more juice for the annual rivalry matchup between South Carolina.

After struggling to move the ball in a 38-6 loss at Florida, the Gamecocks' offense exploded for 606 yards of offense in a 63-38 win over fifth-ranked Tennessee.

South Carolina came into the contest as huge underdogs, and Clemson co-defensive coordinator Mickey Conn admitted it was a surprising result. 

"Of course, just like it probably did everybody," Conn said. "They were very creative with (Jaheim) Bell moving him around in different spots and where they put him. And they spread the ball out, got the ball in the hands of different people. Did a great job with formations, shifts, motions. Just a lot of creativity on offense, I thought."

Spencer Rattler turned what was arguably the best performance of his collegiate career, completing 30-of-37 for 438 yards, with six touchdowns.

"I thought he played really well," Conn said. "I think he's gotten better as the seasons gotten going. Talking about a guy that transfers in has to learn a new offense and he's gotten better every week."

The Tigers are also coming off an impressive 40-10 win over Miami. The defense was dominant, holding the Hurricanes to just 98 yards of offense, its lowest output since 1965. Miami averaged just 1.3 yards per carry running the ball.

The Clemson defense also registered five sacks and held Miami to just 3-of-11 on third-down attempts, in what was its most complete performance of the season. This coming on the heels of a mostly stout performance in the win over Louisville.

Conn credits the aggressive mindset the defense has played with since the loss to Notre Dame for its improved play over the past two games, something he thinks will serve the Tigers well on Saturday.

"I think defensively, it's the energy and the enthusiasm," Conn said. "I think that's been the biggest difference for us is bringing that and I think that playing in Death Valley, I think the crowd and our fans and that support and that noise and all that stuff, man it really amps it up. But I love the energy and enthusiasm that our defense is playing with right now."

Having played at Alabama, Conn is more than familiar with how intense some of these in-state rivalries can be, and he knows when these two teams kick it off on Saturday, exactly how much is on the line.

"This game means a lot to the people in this state," Conn said. "And for us, for me, I take that personal. I can remember being a part of the rivalry you're talking about, crying as a little kid, when we didn't win. That's how these kids feel that love Clemson. That's how these parents and these adults feel about Clemson and I take that personal. I want the Clemson fans happy at the end of the day and excited. So with the defensive staff, we're gonna put everything we can into it to make them happy."

Want to join in on the discussion? 100% FREE! Interact with fellow Tiger fans and hear directly from publisher Zach Lentz, deputy editor Brad Senkiw, recruiting analyst Jason Priester and staff writer Will Vandervort on any subject. Click here to become a member of the ALL CLEMSON message board community today!

Get your Tiger tickets from SI Tickets HEREDo us a HUGE favor and like, subscribe and follow us on social media:
►LIKE us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allclemson
►SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/c/AllClemson
►FOLLOW All Clemson on Twitter:https://twitter.com/All_Clemson

More on All Clemson: /college/clemson/