For the fourth straight season, the South Carolina football team fell short of its goal to win the state.
Behind two touchdowns apiece from Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant and wide receiver Hunter Renfrow, the Gamecocks were defeated by the Tigers, 34-10, at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday night.
"We just got beat," head coach Will Muschamp said. "You can't beat yourself against a good football team. We had too many self-inflicted issues [Saturday] that caused issues for us. We had nine penalties for the first time. We had nine penalties in four or five games combined. Disappointed in the showing [Saturday]."
The Gamecocks were penalized 76 yards on Saturday, compared to Clemson's 25 yards from penalties. Several on the team, including senior linebacker Skai Moore, said the Gamecocks could have handled their emotions better.
"We've been disciplined. We've been playing good football," Moore said. "That's out of character for us. We definitely should be more locked in and more focused on our assignments and stuff, so it was out of character for us."
Muschamp added, "We've got to handle it better and we didn't. They all lost their cool at times in some situations ... In any situation, whether it was a defeat or a victory, you've got to learn from those situations. You've got to move forward. We need to learn from this."
It wasn’t until the 14:13 mark in the fourth quarter that South Carolina’s offense reached Clemson territory for the first time. Defensive back Keisean Nixon picked off Bryant and returned the ball 22 yards to Clemson’s 22-yard line. Parker White scored the Gamecocks’ first points of the night, making a 40-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
Bentley’s only touchdown of the game came late in the fourth quarter on a 38-yard pass to Bryan Edwards, cutting Clemson’s lead to 24 points.
The Clemson defense set the tone early in the first quarter when Bentley was intercepted by Ryan Carter, who returned the pick 12 yards for a touchdown. Muschamp said there was miscommunication within the offense on the play.
"At the end of the day, I throw the ball and I gotta be responsible for every pass that I throw," Bentley said. "That's 100 percent on me and I just gotta be better."
Similar to its defense, Clemson's offense caught fire in the second quarter. Tavien Feaster rushed one yard into the end zone for his sixth rushing touchdown of the season, extending Clemson’s lead to 14 with 8:12 left in the second quarter. The Tigers extended their lead to 20-0 before halftime on Bryant’s four-yard pass to Renfrow and a missed point after attempt from Alex Spence.
That wasn’t the only score of the night for Renfrow, who scored his second touchdown on a career-long 61-yard reception to open the second half.
"I feel like on the defensive side we hurt ourselves throughout the game, with penalties," Taylor Stallworth said. "It's all about being smarter, making smarter plays. We hurt ourselves."
The Gamecocks finished with just 207 yards of total offense, while the defense allowed Clemson to amass 469 yards.
With the loss, the Gamecocks ended the regular season at 8-4 overall and will set their sights on ending the year with a bowl game victory.
"We got one more game left," Bentley said. "Our focus now is getting better and preparing for our bowl game wherever it may be and I think there's a lot of positives this season."