Spurrier breaks USC record for career wins with 65th victory as South Carolina coach
CLEMSON — Before South Carolina’s 27-17 win at Clemson, defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward had a challenge for sophomore defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.
Ward told Clowney that former USC defensive end Melvin Ingram sacked Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd six times when the Gamecocks played the Tigers last season.
“You have to find out what motivates your players,” Ward said. “He tried to get six.”
In fact, Ingram finished last year’s game with five tackles and two sacks. But Clowney responded to Ward’s misleading challenge with one of the best performances of his career, recording 4.5 sacks and smashing South Carolina’s single-season sack record.
“It’s almost like guys don’t have a chance,” sophomore quarterback Dylan Thompson said. “That guy is just a freak. There’s nobody you can simulate for him in practice if you’re the other team. He shows it on the field. When the lights come on, it’s his time.”
Clowney currently has a total of 13 sacks this season. The previous record was 10, held by Ingram and Andrew Provence.
After missing last week’s game against Wofford due to a nagging foot injury, Clowney made his presence felt from the start. His first sack of the day, which brought his season total to nine, came on the Tigers’ second possession of the game. He tied the record just minutes into the second quarter.
The record-breaking sack came after USC took the lead in the third quarter. Clowney attacked Boyd from his blind side for a loss of 10 yards after fighting off offensive lineman Brandon Thomas. He added two more in the fourth quarter, one on the last play of the game.
The sophomore said the Tigers’ tight end didn’t chip him like he expected, so he took advantage of the many one-on-one matchups he faced.
“You can’t block Jadeveon one-on-one,” coach Steve Spurrier said. “We’ve got him one more year. Then we’re going to shake his hand and thank him for all he has done for South Carolina.”
Ward said that although Clowney fell just short of the challenge he was given, he was not disappointed in his 4.5 sacks Saturday.
Instead, the sophomore took pride in the Gamecocks’ fourth consecutive win over their rivals, promising another victory next year.
“I don’t know how it feels to lose to Clemson,” Clowney said. “I’m not going to know how it feels, either.”
Winningest coach: With the win over Clemson, Spurrier has set a new high for all-time victories for a South Carolina coach. His record at USC now stands at 65-37. The win record was previously held by Rex Enright, who had 64 career victories with the Gamecocks in two stints as head coach, from 1938 to 1942 and from 1946 to 1955.
Spurrier said it was “neat” to reach the milestone against USC’s in-state rival, after reaching his 200th career victory against nonconference opponent UAB earlier this season.
“The ball’s worth keeping, put it that way,” Spurrier said.
Record return yards: With his 30-yard punt return in the first quarter, Ace Sanders set a school record for punt return yardage in a single season. Sanders now has a total of 363 yards in 25 returns this year. Dick Harris set the previous record of 362 punt return yards in 1971.