Clemson-South Carolina Preview

The No. 14 South Carolina Gamecocks (9-2, 6-2) will host No. 18 Clemson Tigers (9-2, 6-2) this Saturday night at 7:45 p.m. ET at Williams Brice Stadium in Columbia, SC.

The Tigers are coming in off of a loss to lowly NC State 37-13, and have lost two of their last three ballgames.  The Tigers have also lost the last two games in this rivalry, including a 29-7 loss last year at home in Death Valley.

Clemson will play in next week's ACC Championship Game in Charlotte, NC, but this team has hardly looked like a BCS team in the past several weeks.

"We're lucky we hadn't lost all three," coach Dabo Swinney said after last Saturday's loss at North Carolina State.

QB Tahj Boyd threw two interceptions and lost a fumble, while Mike Bellamy also lost a fumble against the Wolfpack this past weekend.  Clemson's offense also didn't reach the 200 yard mark until late in the game, and didn't score a touchdown until their final drive.

"A key to us winning is to keep from turning the ball over," Clemson tight end Brandon Ford said. "If we can execute like we did the first eight games, that should be OK."

That may be an issue this week against the Gamecocks highly ranked defensive unit, which has been the strongest part of the team this season.

South Carolina's defense is ranked sixth in the country in turnovers with 29 and are looking to win three straight in The Battle of the Palmetto State for the first time since 1968-70.  Although the Gamecocks are missing out on the SEC Championship Game next week, this is a big match-up that South Carolina really wants to win.

"If you're not in the conference championship game, this becomes the biggest game of the year for us," coach Steve Spurrier said.

Even though the Gamecocks will not participate in the SEC Title Game, they have a chance to accomplish some big things.  If South Carolina wins this Saturday, the Gamecocks will have won 10 games in a season for just the second time in school history, tying the record set by the 1984 Gamecocks.

The Gamecocks are hoping for a repeat performance from last week out of their offensive unit.  The Gamecocks lit up The Citadel for 473 yards, including 217 yards and three touchdowns from Connor Shaw and another 109 yards and two scores from Brandon Wilds.

The Tigers will need to match the intensity of the Gamecocks if they want to rebound with a win Saturday night.  If the Gamecocks can get another solid outing from the offense, Clemson could be in trouble early.

Prediction:
#14 South Carolina 21  #18 Clemson 17