The Clemson football team came into Williams-Brice Stadium with just one idea in mind: To dominate the Palmetto Bowl for a sixth-straight time.
The Palmetto Bowl: One of the most anticipated games of the regular season between the Clemson Tigers and South Carolina Gamecocks to decide who the reigning champion of the state will be.
As we watched the action in Williams-Brice Stadium unfold Saturday afternoon, it was clear that Clemson came to shut down the 4-7 Gamecocks and put another loss on their already disappointing season.
Trevor Lawrence came into the game ready to make a statement with the first play from scrimmage being a deep pass incomplete to Tee Higgins. From there, Clemson would have end the day with two 100-yard receivers in Justyn Ross and Tee Higgins. The two combined for three touchdowns.
Analysis:
Going into the Palmetto Bowl, South Carolina was severely outmatched and it certainly didn’t help matters when the Gamecocks lost their No. 1 wide receiver Bryan Edwards to injury. As a result, the offensive unit could not getting anything going.
Having to resort to swapping out Ryan Hilinski and Jay Urich constantly throughout the game there was no chemistry.
The Clemson running game got off to a slow start in the first half, but came back with Travis Etienne scoring two touchdowns during the 2nd half. As a unit the Tigers rushed for 211 yards.
As expected, the Tiger defense played lights-out football, allowing the Gamecocks to only accrue 174 total yards and three points.
From start-to-finish, Clemson was clearly the better team. The Tigers methodically took care of the Gamecocks and finished a second-straight perfect regular season.
Clemson will take on the Virginia Cavaliers next Saturday in Charlotte, NC for the ACC Championship game. With a win, the Tigers will likely clinch a spot in the CFB Playoff for a fifth-straight year. It will be interesting to see how the matchups play out for the playoff and how things fall into place for the Tigers heading into the postseason.