Clemson Football: Tigers fall to Gamecocks as passing game sputters

Multiple streaks owned by the Clemson football team fell as South Carolina defeated the Tigers 31-30 in Death Valley Saturday.

Clemson entered the game with a 40-game home winning streak, an incredible record of winning when leading at the half and a 7-game winning streak over South Carolina.

All that fell by the wayside as the Gamecocks rallied past the Tigers in the second half as an inept offense and turnovers doomed the Tigers.

South Carolina played well, while the Tigers fumbled all over themselves again and it cost them this time.

Clemson led 14-0 and 16-7, yet repeatedly failed to close the deal, especially at the start of the second half, when they got the ball first with a 9-point lead and promptly engineered a listless three and out.

Incredibly the Tigers ran for 237 yards and lost as D.J. Uiagalelei was only 8 for 29 for 99 yards on the day.

The Gamecocks were buoyed by big play after big play through the air as Clemson’s defensive backs struggled in coverage.

Despite a multitude of mistakes Clemson football had the opportunity to win and fumbled it

Despite all that, Clemson had an opportunity as the Gamecocks were forced to punt with less than 3 minutes left and the Tigers were expected to get the ball around midfield needing just a field goal.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, Antonio Williams coughed the ball up, the Gamecocks recovered and the rest was history.

Clemson will play North Carolina for the ACC Championship next week, but there are many questions facing Dabo Swinney and his program moving forward.

Despite a 10-2 regular season, this team is a shell of the National Championship teams of 2016 and 2018 and facing an uphill climb on NIL and the transfer portal, which like it or not, are a part of college football in the modern era.

While there is a game next week and a bowl game to follow, there needs to be a lot of soul searching among the Clemson staff, and perhaps a realization that what has worked in the past may not work in the future.