Six Clemson turnovers fuel Gamecock victory
Head coach Steve Spurrier said before Saturday’s game that pressure would be key in slowing down Clemson senior quarterback Tajh Boyd. On Saturday, the Gamecock defense had five sacks to help fuel South Carolina’s 31-17 victory over the Tigers. The Gamecocks have now sacked Boyd 16 times in the past three meetings between the two teams.
“We just knew we had to apply pressure with the front four,” junior defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles said. “Then [Boyd] starts throwing some ugly balls and that’s what he did.”
With Quarles and junior defensive end Jadeveon Clowney leading the way, the Gamecocks got to Boyd early and kept the senior from getting into a consistent rhythm. South Carolina’s defense also did its part in creating turnovers, starting with the opening drive. Clemson junior receiver Sammy Watkins caught a pass from behind the line of scrimmage and then threw a deep ball toward the end zone, which was intercepted by junior safety Brison Williams.
Clemson scored a quick touchdown on its second drive, but Clowney and Quarles started to make their presences felt in the second quarter. Quarles finished with 2 1/2 sacks on the night to give him 9 1/2 sacks for the year and Clowney got his third sack of the season. Boyd hit some plays for big gains in the passing game, but could not lead the Tigers to another touchdown before halftime.
The Tigers had their longest touchdown drive of the season in the third quarter, moving 88 yards on 15 plays capped by senior running back Roderick McDowell’s four-yard touchdown to tie the game at 17.
In the fourth quarter, the turnover bug bit the Tigers. On a play from the South Carolina 33-yard line, Boyd ran up the middle and was stripped of the ball by senior defensive end Chaz Sutton who also came up with the fumble recovery.
After a Clemson muffed punt helped the Gamecocks extend their lead to 14 points, the defense stepped up again when true freshman linebacker Skai Moore picked off a Boyd pass with just under four minutes to play.
Redshirt freshman linebacker T.J. Holloman sealed the game with an interception on Clemson’s last offensive possession. The Tigers turned the ball over six times in the game with the South Carolina defense forcing four of them.
The Gamecock defensive line did a good job of making Boyd uncomfortable by themselves in the fourth quarter, which helped stop any comeback attempt Clemson had in mind. Clowney and Boyd exchanged words several times throughout the game.
“I told him, ‘We ain’t friends right now, and every chance I get, I’m going to try to take your head off,’” Clowney said.
Defensive Coordinator Lorenzo Ward acknowledged Clemson’s explosive offense, but said South Carolina’s defense did a good job for the most part to limit big plays.
“This ball game was all about pride,” Ward said. A lot of those guys out there playing — it was their last game ever in this stadium. We had an opportunity to go out and continue to get better and I thought we did.”
Clowney said he was “overwhelmed” with the crowd in his last game at Williams-Brice Stadium and called South Carolina fans the best in the country. He also mentioned the improvement of the young linebacking core and thought the defense has really grown throughout the season.
Redshirt junior cornerback Victor Hampton said he was proud of the defense for slowing down a Clemson offense that came into the game averaging more than 40 points and 500 yards per contest.
“We earned this win tonight — it wasn’t given to us,” he said. “I’m just very excited; I’m happy for the things we’ve done this year.”