Ups and Downs: Clemson Falls at Home to Gamecocks

What went right (not much) and what went wrong (a lot) for No. 8 Clemson in Saturday's 31-30 loss to South Carolina at Memorial Stadium.

Brad Senkiw | Nov 26, 2022

In this story:

No. 8 Clemson saw their seven-game winning streak against rival South Carolina and the Tigers' 40 consecutive home-game winning streak come to an end Saturday in a 31-30 loss to the Gamecocks at Memorial Stadium.

The Tigers, who lost the turnover battle once again, led 23-14 at halftime but were outscored 17-7 in the second half to fall to 10-2 in the regular season. The Gamecocks improved to 8-4.

Here's what went right (not much) and what went wrong (a lot) for No. 8 Clemson in Saturday's loss:

Ups

Ground game: This one was the lone bright spot offensively for the Tigers as Will Shipley rushed for 132 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries. He had a long run of 47 yards to lead a rushing attack that finished with 237 yards. Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei added 51 yards on 12 carries, and Phil Mafah averaged 6 yards per rush.

Fast start: Clemson looked great early, rushing out to a 14-0 lead after a Jeremiah Trotter Jr. pick-6 and then a 9-yard touchdown run by Uiagalelei. And after South Carolina scored, Clemson got a big safety on an intentional grounding call in the end zone to go up 16-7, but it didn't last.

Behind the line: Clemson had 11 tackles for a loss and produced three sacks.

Downs

Special teams: Clemson was not good in the third facet of the game. The biggest mistake was a fumble on a punt return by Antonio Williams that was recovered by the Gamecocks with 2:09 to play and the Tigers down 1. They never got the ball back. Clemson also turned the ball over on a bizarre kick return in which they tried to trick South Carolina when Shipley gave the ball to Mafah, but Mafah inexplicably fumbled the ball, which wasn't knocked out. He just lost it.

Passing game: It was a disastrous day for Clemson's air attack as there simply wasn't much attacking. The Tigers produced just 99 passing yards. Uiagalelei was 8-of-29 passing and threw a terrible interception in the fourth quarter with Clemson down one. The tight ends were nearly non-existent as Jake Briningstool had one catch and Davis Allen had none. It didn't help that Beaux Collins, who caught a 59-yard pass in the first half, left the game with an injury. The offense suffered greatly in the second half from a lack of passing as it produced 13 yards through the air.

Pass coverage: As bad as Clemson's offensive passing was, its defensive version wasn't much better. The Tigers allowed 360 passing yards and Gamecock QB Spender Rattler to complete 25 of his 39 passes and two touchdowns. Clemson did force two interceptions, but Rattler found Antwane Wells Jr. nine times for 132 yards. He beat DB Andrew Mukuba several times. Yes, the Tigers were down multiple safeties in the second half, but this was reminiscent of the Wake Forest game in terms of coverage.

Targeting: Starting safety R.J. Mickens was called for targeting in the second half when he lowered his head during a tackle attempt. Mickens wasn't initially penalized, but a review determined that the did indeed commit targeting and he was ejected. It was a big loss for the Tigers' secondary as he had an interception earlier in the game, and now he'll miss the first half of the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 3 against UNC.

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