The Halftime Report: South Carolina vs. Clemson

South Carolina's Football team made some critical errors early on, which has them into the halftime break with a 13-7 deficit against Clemson.

Shane Beamer and the South Carolina Gamecocks have become renowned for their play in November and came into the 120th edition of the Palmetto Bowl hoping to carry that over. So far, some significant mistakes have kept them from fully recapturing that magic, as the team finds itself down 13-7 to Clemson as they head into the locker room.

The offense for South Carolina's Football team got the ball to start the Palmetto Bowl, and proceeded to have their worst start of the entire season. On just the second play of their first drive, Spencer Rattler threw a swing pass backwards to Xavier Legette, who dropped the ball, and then was unable to pick up the ball as Clemson safety Khalil Barnes beat him to the ball and ran it back for a touchdown. On the following drive, Dowell Loggains dialed up a play-action shot play for Rattler, who missed an open Ahmarean Brown and instead targeted Xavier Legette, who had Barnes sitting right in his route path, and jumped up and caught the ball for an interception.

Despite the disastrous offensive start, Clayton White's defense would hold strong and force a three-and-out from the Tigers, giving the ball right back to South Carolina. Loggains, sensing his unit needing to settle down and get into a rhythm, elected to lean on Mario Anderson Jr. and a quick passing game to the perimeter, which worked to perfection, as Carolina drove 81-yards down the field and scored, notching things up at 7 a piece.

After a Clemson drive that led to a field goal, Carolina would get to about midfield, but would see their fourth offensive possession stall, forcing Kai Kroeger to punt it back to the team in orange. After two more punts, one from both teams, the Tigers' Johnathan Weitz would hit a 49-yard field goal to give Clemson a six-point advantage.

Conservative second-quarter play-calling from Dowell Loggains, along with some ill-timed pass protection issues, caused the offense to be stagnant in the final 15 minutes of the first half. Carolina will have to continue to hold firm in the second half while the offense tries to correct their issues.

How To Watch: South Carolina vs Clemson

• TV: SEC Network
• Radio: Gamecock Radio Network
• Live stream on fuboTV: Start with a 7-day free trial!

You Might Also Like:

• Everything Dabo Swinney Said About South Carolina & The Palmetto Bowl
• Opponent Film Review: Clemson's Defense
• Opponent Film Review: Clemson's Offense

Join the community:

• Follow Andrew Lyon on Twitter: @ALyon_SC
• Follow Joseph Griffin on Twitter: @JosephGriffinJG
• Follow Fisher Brewer on Twitter: @USCTalk
• Follow Locked On Gamecocks on Youtube or wherever you get your podcasts

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top right-hand corner of the page. Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter at @GamecocksDigest.