No. 18 Gamecocks overpower Tigers

CLEMSON -- It ended with a sea of garnet and black lingering on the Memorial Stadium turf as the South Carolina band played on into the night following a 29-7 victory over Clemson.

The Tigers and Gamecocks entered Saturday night in reverse roles from a year ago, but the Gamecocks enjoyed a repeat showing of dominance and celebrated their first back-to-back wins over Clemson in 40 years.

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Clemson vs. Carolina

South Carolina and Clemson football collided in their annual rivalry game Saturday night in Clemson.

With the win, South Carolina continues building momentum for its first SEC title game appearance next Saturday against undefeated Auburn. It marks the third time in school history South Carolina has reached the nine-win plateau.

USC quarterback Stephen Garcia said it's been a good year to be a Gamecock.

"We're doing a lot of firsts around here this year," Garcia said. "Hopefully we can keep it going."

Not only did No. 18 South Carolina (9-3) have too much offensive firepower for Clemson (6-6), but USC also won the battles on both sides of the line. The Gamecocks also benefited from several Clemson miscues, including a Kyle Parker third-quarter interception that USC's Antonio Allen turned into a TD.

With the defeat, Clemson and coach Dabo Swinney lost an opportunity to alter the tenor and perception of a disappointing season. There was no spin from Swinney.

"They beat us," he said. "It's as simple as that."

As expected, USC overwhelmed Clemson with its offensive firepower early. But USC also dominated Clemson defensively, holding the Tigers scoreless for the final 58:10 after DeAndre Hopkins and Parker hooked up for a score on the Tigers' opening possession.

"Our defense pretty much shut them down," USC coach Steve Spurrier said.

Alshon Jeffery was thought to be a major mismatch for the Clemson secondary heading into the game, and he was Saturday night.

The 6-4 Jeffery dominated Clemson's undersized secondary, recording five catches for 141 yards and a touchdown.

Jeffery easily beat Clemson's Byron Maxwell on a post route for a 37-yard touchdown to give USC a 16-7 second-quarter lead

South Carolina's other dynamic offensive playmaker, Marcus Lattimore, was held somewhat in check. He finished with 48 yards on 23 carries.

While Lattimore was contained, Clemson simply had no running game as a solid USC defensive front limited the Tigers to 35 yards on the ground. Cliff Matthews and company won the one-on-one matchup against Clemson's veteran offensive line.

In the Clemson upset scenario, the Tigers needed a dynamic performance from its front four and a strong finale from Parker in his final home game as Clemson's quarterback.

Clemson received neither.

Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers entered the game leading the nation in sacks, but he was largely a non-factor. Bowers was often double-teamed.

After several weeks of improved performance, Parker was again reluctant to stand in the pocket and was guilty of several poor decisions, including the interception to Allen that gave USC a 26-7 lead in the third quarter.

After the interception, Parker was pulled for backup Tajh Boyd, who was harassed by USC's front four and received a bone-crunching hit from Matthews.

The Clemson miscues didn't end with Parker. Two first-half mistakes led to 10 South Carolina points.

Clemson thought it had held USC to a three-and-out, but an unsportsmanlike penalty on fourth down extended the drive and led to a field goal by Spencer Lanning. Later in the first half, Clemson punter Dawson Zimmerman was unable to handle a high snap deep in Clemson territory. The Gamecocks took over at the Clemson 5 and on the next play Stephen Garcia threw a touchdown pass to Patrick DiMarco for South Carolina's first lead at 9-7. The Gamecocks never looked back.

Check out the Clemson blog at postandcourier.com/blogs/tiger_tracks and follow Travis Sawchik on Twitter (@travis_sawchik).