Ricardo Jones returned an interception 12 yards for a touchdown with 3:20 remaining in the fourth quarter, helping Clemson pull away for a 28-14 victory over rival South Carolina on Saturday.
The defensive score sealed the Tigers’ sixth consecutive road victory over the Gamecocks. Clemson (7-5) relied on a opportunistic defense and a wild second quarter to hold off South Carolina (4-8) in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Holding a precarious 20-14 lead late in the game, the Tigers’ defense pressured South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers into a critical mistake. Jones jumped the route, intercepted the pass and returned it for the score. Quarterback Cade Klubnik then connected with Adam Randall for a two-point conversion to push the lead to two touchdowns.
“Disappointing way to finish a disappointing season, to say the least,” South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer said. “We had momentum and thought we were going to, you know, win the game in the fourth quarter… and it didn’t happen. Turnovers, lack of execution, bad coaching, all of it.”
The game was defined by a frantic second quarter that saw the teams combine for 31 points.
Clemson opened the scoring with a 10-yard touchdown run by Randall to cap a 78-yard drive. South Carolina answered quickly when Sellers found Nyck Harbor for a 53-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 7-7.
The Tigers retook the lead on a bizarre play midway through the quarter. Klubnik rushed for 3 yards before fumbling after a hit by B. Thomas Jr. The ball bounced fortuitously for Clemson, as Klubnik recovered his own fumble and scrambled into the end zone for a touchdown.
The Gamecocks struck back just 19 seconds later. Sellers connected with Vandrevius Jacobs for a 74-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the ensuing drive, knotting the score at 14-14.
Nolan Hauser gave Clemson the lead for good with a 32-yard field goal just before halftime, sending the Tigers to the locker room with a 17-14 advantage.
The second half turned into a defensive struggle. Hauser added a 42-yard field goal midway through the third quarter to extend the lead to 20-14, the only scoring in the period.
Klubnik and the Clemson offense managed the game efficiently, but it was the defense that closed the door. The Tigers’ secondary kept the Gamecocks’ big-play offense in check after the explosive first half.
Sellers finished with two touchdown passes but the costly late interception ended South Carolina’s hopes of an upset. The loss concluded a difficult season for the Gamecocks, who finished with a 3-4 record at home.
“In the past, we have been a really good fourth quarter team around here and we were last year in this game,” Beamer said. “And we’ve got to perform better than what we did.”
The loss drops Beamer’s record to 33-30 as head coach at South Carolina and concludes a difficult season for the Gamecocks, who finished with a 3-4 record at home. Clemson improved to 4-1 in away games this season and extended its series advantage to 73-45-4.
