The No. 15 South Carolina football team notched a comeback road victory over No. 12 Clemson thanks to a well-rounded defensive performance.
The Gamecocks forced two turnovers in the second half, in addition to sealing the win with an interception from sixth-year linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. with 12 seconds remaining.
In the first half, South Carolina's defense surrendered several big plays through the air. On Clemson's third drive, junior quarterback Cade Klubnik found freshman wide receiver Bryant Wesco Jr. for a 30-yard gain. A few plays later, Klubnik connected with freshman wide receiver T.J. Moore for a 28-yard completion.
On the same drive, South Carolina got an early wave of momentum when it stopped Clemson on a fourth-and-one play at the Gamecocks' 18-yard line. Sophomore defensive back Jalon Kilgore and Knight Jr. combined efforts to stop Tigers senior running back Phil Mafah for no gain on the play.
Klubnik had a positive first half, as he completed 10 of 16 passes for 148 yards, including three completions of 15 yards or more. Clemson's junior signal caller also proved to be a threat with his legs. Early in the second quarter, Klubnik scored a 13-yard rushing touchdown to give Clemson a 7-0 advantage.
"They did make some plays on us in the passing game," head coach Shane Beamer said. "They've got good receivers, I said it all week. They're the same offense that we played last year. Klubnik's a year older, what a fantastic player he is. That's what Dabo (Swinney) and I talked about after the game, just two great quarterbacks going at it."
Midway through the third quarter, South Carolina forced its first turnover of the contest when fifth-year defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway recovered a fumble by Mafah. The Gamecocks largely contained Clemson's rushing attack in the game, as the Tigers rushed 32 times for 139 yards. Coming into Saturday, the Tigers averaged 195.3 rushing yards per game.
"I think we're the hottest team in the country right now," junior defensive back Nick Emmanwori said. "If you look at our resume, the three losses we have, I think Alabama and LSU were by five points total. Ole Miss probably wasn't our best game, but it was still a good showing in that game, but I think we're the hottest team in the country."
The Gamecocks' pass rush, which entered the game with 39 sacks on the season, had a quiet day. South Carolina recorded its only sack of the game when sixth-year linebacker Bam Martin-Scott dropped Klubnik for a nine-yard loss near the end of the third quarter.
With around ten minutes to go in the contest, Klubnik escaped for another big run, this time for an 18-yard touchdown to make it a 14-7 Clemson lead. For the game, Klubnik rushed 10 times for 62 yards and two touchdowns.
Despite giving up the touchdown, South Carolina's defense stepped up in the fourth quarter. Clemson totaled just 79 yards in the final 15 minutes and the Gamecocks forced the Tigers to punt twice during the game's final period.
"That's what we live by – put the ball down," Knight Jr. said. "You can put it down on the concrete, you can put it down on a parkway, the tarmac, put the ball down. Defense, we'll come get the ball right back."
After the Gamecocks took a 17-14 lead with a little over a minute to go in the game, the Tigers' offense wasted no time trying to get within field goal range. On the first play of the drive, Klubnik found senior tight end Jake Briningstool for a 24-yard completion.
Following the completion, the Tigers moved into Gamecocks' territory behind a 12-yard catch by freshman wide receiver T.J. Moore and an 11-yard scramble by Klubnik. But with the ball at South Carolina's 18 yard-line, Klubnik threw a pass that Knight Jr. intercepted to end Clemson's comeback attempt.
"What a play by D-Knight," Beamer said. "What a special young man he is, and that was it ...What a day, so proud of our players and so happy for them."
Knight Jr., a UNC-Charlotte transfer, led the Gamecocks with 10 tackles, eight of which were solo stops. Emmanwori also had an impressive game, registering seven total tackles.
"It's huge for the city," Emmanwori said. "Other than Williams-Brice, my favorite place to play is Death Valley. The energy is amazing, so it's huge for the city, huge for Columbia."
With its win on Saturday, South Carolina is now 6-1 in matchups against Clemson when both teams have been ranked in the AP Top 25. After defeating the Tigers this season and in 2022, the Gamecocks now have won back-to-back games in Memorial Stadium for the first time since the 2009 and 2012 seasons.
"We're hot," Beamer said. "Our defense continues to get better. Our quarterback, as you guys saw, continues to get better. You want to be the team that's playing your best football at the end of the season and we sure are."
With the win over Clemson, the Gamecocks also moved to 4-1 in road games this season, with the team's only loss coming at No. 7 Alabama on Oct. 12.
Despite not playing in the SEC Championship game, South Carolina remains in the running for an at-large bid to the 12-team College Football Playoff. The bracket will be revealed on Dec. 8.
"We go into hostile environments every single week," Beamer said. "Our only loss on the road is a two points loss. You talk about strength of schedule, I think today's our fourth top 25 win with I believe the 12th highest strength of schedule. I get it, there's some very deserving teams out there, but if the committee's job is to pick the 12 best teams, you tell me."