Nov 24, 2018; Clemson, SC, USA; Clemson Tigers defensive lineman Christian Wilkins (42) hurtles South Carolina Gamecocks linebacker Sherrod Greene (44) during the second quarter of the game to score a touchdown at Clemson Memorial Stadium. Photo Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports
South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley passed for a career high 510 yards and five touchdowns, but it was not enough as the Clemson Tigers held off the Gamecocks to win the state championship 56-35.
The game produced video-game numbers as the two teams combined for 1,344 yards of total offense. Clemson had as school record three touchdown scoring drives of over 94 yards in the game.
Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw for a career-high 393 yards; Adam Choice rushed for three touchdowns, and No. 2 Clemson capped a perfect regular season and its fifth consecutive rivalry win. South Carolina, which had lost the last two rivalry games by a combined 90-17 score, was supposed to have little chance to hang with Clemson, but the Gamecocks took the opening kickoff and drove for a touchdown.
South Carolina only trailed 28-21 at the half. The Tigers scored on their first three possessions of the second half to build the lead before South Carolina rallied to cut the margin to 49-35 with less than a minute to play. After an unsuccessful onside kickoff, Clemson kept its starters in and continued to throw for the end zone rather than taking a knee to run the clock out. The Tigers scored their final touchdown with 39 seconds remaining to push the lead to 56-35. The Gamecocks took the kickoff and drove inside the Clemson 5 yard line before the clock ran out.
Clemson running back Travis Etienne ran for 150 yards and two touchdowns to give him 19, setting the single-season record. South Carolina senior wide receiver Deebo Samuel had 10 catches for 210 yards and three touchdowns, while Gamecocks receiver Shi Smith had nine grabs for 109 yards and one score.
After the game, Clemson Coach Dabo Sweeney said “Give South Carolina credit for making plays and continuing to compete. At the end of the day, our team was too strong across the board. I take my hat off to my players and staff to win a rivalry game by three touchdowns.”
Bentley said the lofty numbers don’t mean much to him after the loss. “Maybe 30 years from now I’ll look back and appreciate it more, but right now really the only thing I can think about is we lost,” he said.
